Alex
by Kooshball
Summary: Margaret has gotten the new nurse she asked for weeks ago, and both Trapper and Hawkeye have their eyes on her. She ends up not being quite what they expected... Alex is going home! Final chapter.
1. Alex's arrival

'Uh, sir?' Radar asked.  
  
'What, Radar?' Henry asked tiredly. He had spent last night fishing with Lesley, and had just missed out on catching the biggest fish he'd ever seen.  
  
'HQ just called. There's a new nurse coming in, in about an hour,' Radar replied.  
  
'Mmm? Oh, new nurse, got it. It's about time,' Henry sighed. Margaret had asked for a new nurse ages ago, but they were only getting it now, during a quiet part of the war. 'Are you going to tell Major Houlihan?' he asked Radar.  
  
'Uh, I was hoping you'd do that. I mean, I have a lot of work to be going on with, and all,' Radar stuttered. Henry sighed again.  
  
'I know, I know, she scares the heck out of me as well,' he said standing up. 'Keep an eye out for the jeep, ok, Radar?' Radar nodded and Henry walked out of his office, and through to Pre-op. Frank and Margaret were looking at one of the few patients they had together and Henry walked up to them. When they saw him, both Frank and Margaret saluted him. Henry saluted back, wondering what he did to get the most GI man and woman in the whole army.  
  
'Major, you have a nurse coming in to camp, in about hour,' he said to Margaret.  
  
'It's about time,' Margaret snapped.  
  
'It's not my fault it's taken headquarters so long to send someone,' Henry tried to explain. 'There's been a bit of a shortage on nurses for a while, they've had to pull people from hospitals back home, and those hospitals can't really spare any of them.'  
  
'I would have expected people to be more patriotic,' Frank said in an annoyed tone. Henry threw his arms up in defeat and left to get ready to meet the new nurse, as required.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Hawkeye and Trapper were in the Swamp, sipping martini's. Both were in their bathrobes, and were enjoying their time off from the war.  
  
'Too bad we're not allowed to get three day passes to Tokyo,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Yeah, well you know Henry won't let us go after the trouble we stirred up last time,' Trapper grinned.  
  
'True,' Hawkeye replied. 'And anyway, whenever we get ready to go on leave, the choppers start bringing wounded in.' The sound of a jeep outside the tent made the two men look up.  
  
'Who do you think that is?' Trapper asked his friend.  
  
'I dunno, but I suppose we'd better go have a look, in case it's a surprise inspection. We wouldn't want to be late,' Hawkeye said, grinning as he pulled himself out of his chair. A woman who looked a little younger than twenty was stepping out of the jeep, helped by Henry. Radar had her bags and was dragging them toward the nurses tent.  
  
'Hotlips must have gotten that nurse she was asking for,' Trapper said.  
  
'Maybe we should ask for a nurse of our own. Why should she own all of them?' Hawkeye asked. Henry was leading the nurse up to them.  
  
'Pierce, McIntire, this is our new nurse, Alexia. Alexia, two of our top surgeons,' Henry introduced them.  
  
'Call me Hawkeye,' Hawkeye said, shaking her hand.  
  
'I'm Trapper,' Trapper added, shaking her hand after Hawkeye.  
  
'Don't call me Alexia, just Alex,' the new nurse said. She was of medium height, and had long, ginger colour hair. Her eyes were a soft green colour, and the bars on her shoulders showed she was a lieutenant. A light scar ran down her left cheek, and she smiled warmly at Hawkeye and Trapper as she followed Henry towards Pre-op. Trapper and Hawkeye stared after her for a few seconds, but then realised what they were doing.  
  
'We're going to have to draw straws on this one,' Hawkeye said eventually as they jogged to catch up to them.  
  
'We could see which of us she likes better,' Trapper suggested. Hawkeye looked over at Trapper.  
  
'Trap, that is the best idea you've had all week,' he said.  
  
'Better than any of the ideas you've had?' Trapper asked.  
  
'No,' Hawkeye said. Trapper punched Hawkeye playfully in the arm and they followed Henry and Alex into the tent. From the door, they watched Alex salute Margaret and Frank.  
  
'I hope she's not all GI like those two,' Trapper whispered as Margaret talked to Alex.  
  
'I don't care if she's twice the GI of Frank and Margaret put together,' Hawkeye whispered back. Alex began walking toward them, and grinned.  
  
'Hi,' she said. 'Know anywhere where I can get a drink?'  
  
'There's the officer's club,' Trapper suggested.  
  
'Or there's the Swamp. We suggest the Swamp, it's cheaper,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Lead the way,' Alex said, following them out the door. She laughed when they went into the Swamp.  
  
'What?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Your tent, or what did you call it? The Swamp, well, I'm surprised you're allowed to have such a mess in camp with Major Burns and Major Houlihan around,' Alex said, looking around, still smiling.  
  
'You know Frank and Margaret?' Trapper asked.  
  
'I know their types. People who stick by the rules, no matter what,' Alex replied.  
  
'Close enough,' Hawkeye shrugged. 'They don't really stick to the rules, they just make everyone else follow the army's laws to the letter.'  
  
'Oh,' Alex said, still laughing. Trapper handed her a martini.  
  
'Don't drink it all at once if you're not used to strong liqueur,' he said to her. Alex took a sip from her glass and started coughing.  
  
'Wow, that's strong,' she wheezed. The three of them were laughing when Frank came in the door.  
  
'Intoxicated as usual,' he sniffed. 'Not even the courtesy to salute a superior officer.'  
  
'Sorry, sir,' Alex said, her hand quickly moving into a salute and back. 'Didn't realise things were so tough around here.' She winked at Hawkeye and Trapper.  
  
'Well, you'll know better for next time,' Frank said, sitting on his cot, and taking his bible down from the shelf.  
  
'Like a drink, sir?' she asked.  
  
'No, thank you, lieutenant,' Frank said, surprised.  
  
'OK then, sir. If you really don't want any,' Alex shrugged. After another glass, Alex was looking a little tipsy.  
  
'Are you ok?' Trapper asked.  
  
'I'm fine, but I might go before you give me more and talk me into doing anything stupid,' Alex grinned and she walked toward the door, trailing a little to the left. When she got to the door, she turned and saluted Frank again. 'See you, Major,' she said before leaving.  
  
'You could take a lesson from the lieutenant. She's courteous, and knows when to stop,' Frank said. Hawkeye made a face at Trapper when Frank turned back to his book, and Trapper had to try hard not to laugh. 


	2. Klinger

After a few martini's, Hawkeye and Trapper went to the mess tent to have dinner. They knew it'd be the same slop served up yesterday, except a day older, but even they couldn't live off of martini's for the whole war. Alex was looking a littler perkier at a table near the door. She was alone, so after grabbing trays of what the army tried to pass off as food, Hawkeye and Trapper went to sit beside her.  
  
'Feeling better?' Trapper asked.  
  
'Yes,' Alex said 'but I probably won't be after eating whatever this green mush is.'  
  
'Oh, that's the broccoli. They cooked it last Friday and keep serving it up to us until it's all gone,' Hawkeye explained. Alex looked up as the door of the mess tent banged open. A short man with dark hair and a red dress marched in, a fur stole around his neck.  
  
'Who the heck is that?' Alex laughed. 'Is he crazy?'  
  
'That's our resident crazy man, Max Klinger. Want to meet him? He's a great lady,' Hawkeye said. They waited for Klinger to get his own slop, then Trapper called him over.  
  
'Hey, Klinger, come sit here. We'd like to introduce you to someone!' Klinger came over to the table, but didn't sit down.  
  
'What can I help you with?' he asked suspiciously, looking at the three sitting at the table.  
  
'Are you crazy? Why are you wearing a dress?' Alex asked, grinning at the dress.  
  
'Of course I'm crazy! Anyone who wears a dress must be crazy!' Klinger shouted so the whole tent could hear. Everyone ignored him, staring at their food and eating whatever they could recognise on their tray.  
  
'Come on, sit down. Max isn't it? Or do you prefer Klinger?' Alex asked.  
  
'Klinger. Are you the new nurse?' Klinger asked.  
  
'Yeah. Call me Alex,' Alex told him. 'Tell me where you got the dress. Does it come in a size ten?' Klinger grinned. He loved talking about fashion, as he thought it might make him appear more crazy.  
  
'Mail order catalogue. I've probably still got it somewhere, if you want to order some of your own dresses,' he said enthusiastically, sitting opposite Alex. Frank and Margaret came into the mess tent next, and Alex gave them a quick salute before she started talking to Klinger. Frank noticed, but looked a little confused. He decided it would be best to keep on moving without paying any attention to Alex. Klinger was talking about where you could get a cheap pair of gloves when Alex finally stopped him.  
  
'It's been great talking to you, Klinger, but I've got Pre-op duty in ten minutes,' Alex said.  
  
'Doesn't matter,' Klinger said. Alex left the mess tent and Klinger turned to Hawkeye and Trapper. 'She's really something, isn't she?' he asked them.  
  
'Yeah, well, we saw her first, and don't you forget it,' Hawkeye replied.  
  
'Yeah, I knew you two would have your eyes on her. Anyway, I'm married,' Klinger said.  
  
'So am I, that's not gonna stop me,' Trapper replied.  
  
'Do you think I bored her with my talk of mail order catalogue dresses?' Klinger asked.  
  
'I don't know about her, but we're definitely sick of hearing about it,' Trapper yawned.  
  
'If you're so scared you've scared her off, go talk to her,' Hawkeye suggested. Klinger nodded, and got up from the table, his meal untouched.  
  
'Hey, Klinger,' Alex said when she saw him near the door. 'If you've gotten those catalogues already, can it please wait?'  
  
'You're a great person, Alex, but I'm just wondering if you think I'm the biggest annoyance in the whole camp. A lot of people think that, but you seemed to actually care about the dress,' Klinger explained.  
  
'I find you interesting, Klinger. I can tell when you're passionate about something, because you're whole face lights up when you're speaking about it. You didn't bore me, or annoy me, just as long as you don't talk about clothes every single time we talk,' Alex said, reading a chart. She looked up at Klinger once she finished it, and grinned at the dress. 'How long have you been wearing those things?' she asked.  
  
'Ever since I was sent here. I want to be sent home on a section eight, you see,' Klinger said.  
  
'Well, you're persistent. I like that. I hope you get out soon,' Alex grinned. Klinger grinned back, and left the tent confidently, heels clicking on the ground. Alex laughed when she noticed them, she hadn't seen them before. Then she went back to work. 


	3. Radar, Henry, and the Major's warning

'Uh, lieutenant?' Radar asked.  
  
'Yep?' Alex turned around from her breakfast the next morning to see the short guy with glasses.  
  
'Colonel Henry Blake would like to see you,' Radar said.  
  
'Ok, thanks. Klinger, talk to you at lunch,' Alex said, getting up and waving a hand at Klinger. On the way to Henry's office, Alex talked to Radar.  
  
'You're company clerk, right?' Alex asked.  
  
'Uh, yes, sir, uh, ma'am,' Radar said nervously.  
  
'Don't worry about that ma'am stuff. Just call me Alex,' Alex told Radar, smiling. 'What am I supposed to call you?'  
  
'Radar,' he said, smiling back, still very jittery.  
  
'How'd you get the name Radar? It's not your real name, is it?' Alex asked.  
  
'No, I know what people are thinking. And I can hear stuff that's coming,' Radar explained.  
  
'Give me an example,' Alex pleaded.  
  
'Alright, well, uh, if there are choppers coming with wounded on them, I can hear them before anyone else,' Radar said.  
  
'That's pretty cool,' Alex said. 'My friends used to call me Alexander, after Alexander the Great, because I'm a quick thinker and a good leader. And because my name is Alexia,' Alex said.  
  
'Wow,' Radar said.  
  
'But it's nowhere as cool as your name,' Alex told Radar as they reached Henry's office door.  
  
'Thanks,' Radar smiled a little. He was nervous around Alex, but he was definitely feeling more comfortable with her. Alex went into Henry's office, and saluted him before sitting down.  
  
'Aw, don't bother with saluting me. It makes me feel uncomfortable,' he said.  
  
'Sorry. I suppose you don't like being called sir, either?' Alex asked.  
  
'No, not really. Just call me Henry. Everyone else does,' Henry said.  
  
'What did you want to see me about, Henry?' Alex asked.  
  
'I've seen you talking to Klinger, and we all know he's being aiming for a psycho discharge for ages. What I want to know is if you think he's really nuts,' Henry told her.  
  
'On one hand, I'd say he isn't, because I've gotten to know him, and although he seems crazy, he really isn't, just trying to get out of the army. On the other hand, I'd say he is crazy, because he has been trying so long to get home on that section eight he wants, and he deserves something for trying,' Alex said.  
  
'I'll agree, he does deserve some sort of a reward for the effort, but if he isn't crazy, he isn't crazy. If the army found out I had let a sane man go home on a section eight, do you know how much trouble I'd be in?' Henry asked.  
  
'I understand,' Alex said. 'Just don't tell Klinger I blew his ticket out of here, otherwise he'd probably strangle me with his fur stole.' Henry laughed.  
  
'Do you drink scotch?' he asked, going to his alcohol cabinet and pulling out a half empty bottle.  
  
'Just a little. I was going to have a martini or two with Hawkeye and Trapper later, but if I have too much, I might do something that I'll regret,' Alex replied. Henry nodded, and tipped a little of the bottles contents into two glasses. They drank it silently, and Alex stood up.  
  
'Thanks for the drink, Henry. Next time, I'll share some of my own stuff with you, Trapper and Hawkeye,' she said, and she left the room.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex knocked on Major Houlihan's tent door, then walked in without waiting for a reply. It took hard work to keep a straight look on her face when Alex found Margaret and Frank standing beside each other, looking embarrassed.  
  
'Don't you know to wait until I allow you in?' Margaret snapped.  
  
'Sorry, Majors,' Alex said, still trying not to grin. She knew subconsciously that these were two people not to cross. Alex quickly saluted them both before continuing. 'Major Houlihan, you wanted to see me sometime tonight, and I thought now was as good as any,' Alex said.  
  
'Please sit down, lieutenant,' Margaret said. Alex sat on one of the two chairs in the tent, and Margaret got another one from beside a cupboard for Frank to sit on. From the corner of her eye, Alex saw Frank blow out a candle on the table, and Alex had to fight hard to stop from smiling. She knew what had been going on here. Frank and Margaret sat down on the two chairs left and looked at Alex. Alex stared back, a smile floating on her lips.  
  
'May we call you Alex?' Margaret asked.  
  
'May I call you Margaret?' Alex asked. Margaret looked a little annoyed, but she nodded anyway. 'Yes, you may call me Alex,' Alex said, smiling pleasantly.  
  
'Alex, you are young and impressionable. I don't think it's a wise idea for you to be around doctors Pierce and McIntire,' Margaret said. 'They are, womanizers, I suppose you could call them, and probably would take advantage of you if you were to drink too much from their Still.'  
  
'I know all this. I know Hawkeye and Trapper chase women around a fair bit, and I'm very careful when I drink with them. If I feel a slight bit tipsy, I leave. They haven't tried anything yet, and I don't believe they would without my permission,' Alex replied.  
  
'You realise that both you and them would be in serious trouble if you were caught, doing anything, like.' Franks said, trying to think of what he would call it.  
  
'Like what you and Margaret were planning to do tonight? Yes, I know that, but Henry is an understanding man, Major, I think I would get off, if I were caught,' Alex said, making sure there was extra emphasis on the word if. Alex got up. 'If you don't mind, Margaret, Major, I'll be leaving and let you two get on with whatever you were planning to do tonight,' Alex said pleasantly, and she closed the door behind her. As soon as she was out of the tent, her face burst into a smile, but she waited until she was further away to start laughing. She went to the Swamp to tell Hawkeye and Trapper about it. 


	4. Frank, and a poker game with Alex

Alex was helping herself to a martini one night, when Frank came in. Hawkeye was in Pre-op and Trapper had promised a date with one of the other nurses.  
  
'Are you allowed to touch that?' Frank snapped.  
  
Alex saluted him and replied 'Yes sir, Hawkeye told me to help myself.' Alex took a sip from her glass, and put it down on the table. 'So how are we today, sir?'  
  
'Wouldn't you like to know?' Frank said bitterly.  
  
'Yes, actually, I would, Major,' Alex said. Frank looked up. Alex wasn't laughing or smiling, in fact, she looked quite serious.  
  
'I got a letter from my wife today,' Frank said eventually.  
  
'Your wife? I never knew you had a wife, sir,' Alex said. Still no sign of her making fun of him, so Frank went on.  
  
'Yes, and Margaret is angry with me because I tried to tell her about it,' he said.  
  
'That's right, you and Margaret have a thing going on, don't you, sir?' Alex asked. She took a sip from her martini. 'Go on,' she urged.  
  
'Well, Margaret was angry at me because I told her my wife wanted to come to Korea and see me, maybe even stay for a few weeks. Margaret was so upset, she cancelled our date tonight,' Frank's face fell.  
  
'I see your problem, sir, if your wife comes to Korea, you won't be able to spend a lot of time with Margaret, otherwise your wife will get suspicious,' Alex said. She poured Frank a martini and handed it to him. Frank drained it in one gulp and continued.  
  
'But if I tell my wife not to come to Korea, she'll suspect I'm having an affair,' he said.  
  
'Never mind, sir, I'm sure you'll think of something,' Alex said in a soothing voice. When Hawkeye got back from Pre-op, Frank was laying on his cot, drooling, asleep, and a martini glass still in one hand.  
  
'What happened?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Frank was feeling down, so I gave him a few martini's. He's feeling a lot better, now,' Alex grinning, sipping her own martini.  
  
'How many is a few?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'About five of your driest,' Alex said, grinning. Hawkeye laughed loudly, and Frank stirred in his sleep. 'Keep it down. I only just got him asleep,' Alex said in an annoyed tone, but her eyes sparkled in the light, so Hawkeye knew she didn't mean it.  
  
'You. you didn't do anything, with him, did you?' Hawkeye asked, staring at Frank.  
  
'No way! Hawkeye, that's just sick. I don't like Frank. Why do you think I've been calling him sir all the time?' Alex asked.  
  
'Well, sir is usually a term of respect,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'If Frank wants to be saluted when he comes into a room, and wants to be called sir and Major, I'll do it so much he'll be begging for someone to call him ferret face,' Alex explained, staring triumphantly at Frank's large form.  
  
'What do you call people who you like?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Whatever they want me to call them,' Alex replied.  
  
'Who do you like the most?' Hawkeye asked, sitting on his cot.  
  
'I don't really know. Why?' Alex asked. Hawkeye moved forward and kissed her on the lips. Alex looked shocked. 'Oh, wow,' she said, looking into Hawkeye's blue eyes. 'You realise Margaret and Frank warned me about something like this happening with you and or Trapper.'  
  
'I'm sorry.' Hawkeye said. 'But you're so gorgeous. Trapper and I knew we'd have trouble with you. I'm sorry. Just pretend it didn't happen.'  
  
'Hawkeye, I.I know you and Trap, it was bound to happen with one of you sooner or later,' Alex said. 'But I can't do this.' Alex drained the rest of her martini and left the tent quickly.  
  
'Why am I such an idiot?' Hawkeye muttered to himself, head in his hands.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Henry came into the Swamp next Thursday night.  
  
'We have a problem,' he told Trapper and Hawkeye. 'Sidney can't make it for poker.'  
  
'Aw, that's a shame. Who can we get to play?' Trapper asked. At that moment, Alex came in. She noticed the cards and poker chips on the table.  
  
'Poker! Who's your fourth? Can you deal me in?' she asked enthusiastically.  
  
'You realise we're the best poker players in Korea?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'You've never played me before though, have you?' Alex asked, grinning a secretive smile.  
  
'There is no way you'll beat Hawkeye. He's the best there is,' Henry said. Hawkeye grinned modestly as Alex took the seat opposite him.  
  
'How much is each chip worth?' she asked as Henry divided the chips up.  
  
'A buck, five bucks, and ten dollars,' Hawkeye explained, pointing to each coloured chip in turn. Trapper dealt out the cards, and they began to play. After six hands, Alex was doing badly.  
  
'Sure you want to keep playing?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Yeah, it's just been a while since I played last,' Alex explained. The next hand dealt, she won with a full house.  
  
'Good job,' Henry said as Alex pulled the chips towards her.  
  
'You guys aren't letting me win, are you?' she asked suspiciously.  
  
'Would we do that?' Hawkeye asked, but Alex could tell they were. After she'd won a few more hands, the surgeons began to play harder. Alex somehow beat them nearly every turn, and when she didn't, she'd been off by beating them by a point. The last hand was long. Alex pushed a chip into the middle and waited.  
  
'I think you're bluffing,' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'Think all you want,' she replied. 'It's your money.'  
  
'I'm out,' Henry said, throwing down his cards.  
  
'She's got too much of my money to be risking anymore,' Trapper added, throwing his cards down as well. Hawkeye pushed in a chip.  
  
'Come on, show us what you got,' he said, laying his cards, revealing a three of a kind with jacks.  
  
'Oh well, looks like I win,' Alex sighed, as she lay down her cards to reveal a four of a kind on tens. She stood up and looked around at the surprised faces around her.  
  
'Uh, did you want your winnings in cash or I.O.U cards?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Keep your money. Gamble it with someone you think you can win with. As for me, I'm going to go to bed,' Alex grinned and she walked out.  
  
'She is so much like you two. Gambler, drinker, sense of humour. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's related to one of you,' Henry said. 


	5. The Bet

Everyone was in the mess tent a few nights later. Henry, Margaret, Frank, Hawkeye, Trapper, Alex and Klinger were all sitting at a table, and talking about different things. Hawkeye and Trapper were insulting Frank again, while Margaret was trying to defend him, as Henry listened, and Klinger was telling Alex about some of the crazier things he had tried to get out of the army. Frank, Margaret, Hawkeye and Trapper were getting very loud, so Klinger stopped for a second and they listened to what they were yelling about.  
  
'He's a higher rank than you, doesn't that prove he's better at controlling people better?' Margaret said.  
  
'So what? He wouldn't be able to run a daycare!' Hawkeye shouted back.  
  
'Why, you. guys!' Frank said, unable to think of anything to call Hawkeye and Trapper.  
  
'Why don't we settle this tomorrow? The war is slow, and it'll shut you four up. How about Major Burns can put some people through some drills. It'll prove if the Major is good or bad at controlling troops,' Alex said. 'Henry, do we have your permission to do that?'  
  
'Yeah, anything to stop the headache they're hammering into my brain,' Henry said.  
  
'Fine. You can make side bets if you want, but it's mainly to prove Major Burns' skills as a leader,' Alex said before turned back to Klinger. 'You were saying something about a hang glider?'  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
The next morning, Alex was declared judge of the competition. She would be one of the few people under Frank's command when they were drilling, as were Margaret, Hawkeye, Trapper, Radar, Henry and Klinger. Alex knew that Hawkeye and Trapper were going to make it as difficult for Frank as possible to control them, and she was looking forward to seeing what would happen. As Hawkeye had insulted Frank by claiming he couldn't look after a daycare, he and Trapper were planning to act like little kids. Margaret of course would follow Frank's every order, Henry and Radar were going to act on how well Frank gave the orders, and Klinger was going to act badly as well, Alex had noticed that he and Major Burns didn't get on very well. Alex didn't know if she'd make it harder or easier for the Major, ('Probably harder,' she had thought to herself with an evil grin that morning.) but she knew it'd be interesting, whatever happened. They were standing around an empty field, just lazing about, when Frank finally turned up.  
  
'Atten-shun!' he yelled loudly. 'Line up for inspection!'  
  
'He pinched me!' Hawkeye yelled out.  
  
'Well, he punched me!' Trapper shouted. Alex shot them a look, and the three started laughing quietly.  
  
'The Major said "attention",' Margaret snapped as they lined up.  
  
'Major's pet,' Hawkeye muttered loudly for everyone to hear. Alex was trying to not laugh and stand still at the same time. Suddenly, Klinger appeared from no-where. He was wearing a pink short-sleeved dress, but had ditched his usual high-heels for something lower to the ground.  
  
'You're late, corporal,' Frank said.  
  
'Sorry, ma'am,' Klinger said, saluting before finding a place between Alex and Trapper.  
  
'You're in trouble,' taunted Trapper.  
  
'Love the new dress, Klinger,' Alex said through the side of her mouth.  
  
'I still have the order form, if you want one,' Klinger replied.  
  
'No thanks, pink really isn't my colour,' Alex whispered. 'Looks nice on you, though.'  
  
'No talking in the ranks!' Frank ordered. He began pacing the row. He glared at Radar, who trembled a little when Frank started yelling. 'Why can't I see myself in your shoes, soldier?' he asked.  
  
'Sorry, sir,' Radar said, his voice trembling. He saluted Frank before he moved on to Henry.  
  
'Yell at me, Frank, and you'll be cleaning the latrines,' Henry told Frank. Frank, looking a little worried, moved on to Hawkeye. Hawkeye was busy pretending to pick his nose, as a young child might do.  
  
'Take that out of you nose!' Frank ordered.  
  
'I don't wanna,' Hawkeye replied. Frank gave up after a few minutes of yelling at Hawkeye, then moved onto Trapper. Trapper was staring idly at their surroundings, ignoring everything that was going on.  
  
'Face the front soldier!' Frank yelled at him. Trapper just ignored him. Instead of trying to shout or reason with him, Frank gave up straight away and turned to Klinger. Klinger was facing the front, straight backed, and acting the perfect soldier, except for the dress and shoes.  
  
'That's not uniform,' Frank told him, his voice dangerously low.  
  
'I know that, ma'am,' Klinger replied, still looking straight ahead. Frank went to move off, defeated, when Klinger stopped him. 'That can't be the whole inspection, can it?' he asked the Major.  
  
'It is, corporal,' Frank said. 'Next time, I expect full uniform.'  
  
'Not until I get a discharge, ma'am,' Klinger told Frank.  
  
'Why, you. you.' Frank steamed.  
  
'Keep moving, Frank,' Henry said from his position in the line. Frank turned to say something nasty, but was slightly stunned at Hawkeye and Trapper playing "Patty cake". This soon turned into wrestling, and Frank quickly forgot what he was going to say, so instead he stood in front of Alex.  
  
'No fault with me, sir,' she said after Frank had stood there, looking at her for about a minute.  
  
'You'll speak when spoken to,' Frank snapped. Alex, feeling annoyed, stuck her tongue out at him, just as he was moving to inspect Margaret. He spotted it out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to see if he saw what he thought he saw, Alex just saluted him.  
  
'Perfect,' Frank said without hesitation when he stopped in front of Margaret. 'No flaws, what-so-ever.'  
  
'Major's pet,' Hawkeye said again, louder this time.  
  
'Dismissed,' Frank told them, and he began to walk away.  
  
'Hold on, Frank, don't you want to hear the judge's decision?' Trapper asked. Frank turned and walked back to them.  
  
'Yelling at troops, not good for morale. Taking orders from someone who's pretending to be a lower ranking officer, proves you can be walked all over by some of the people who have some advantage over you,' Alex began, counting off on her fingers.  
  
'Well, that's pretty much everyone,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Unable to control someone's actions, dangerous. Unable to get someone's attention, you could lose a life like that, sir,' Alex said. 'Uh, let's see. Having someone who is obviously crazy with your sounded minded troops, not safe for the crazy person, or the surrounding people.' Klinger grinned when Alex said that.  
  
'So there!' he said, poking his tongue out at the Major.  
  
'Trying to find fault with a specific someone and favouritism. The others could beat you up for that, Major,' Alex told him, grinning. Frank muttered something they couldn't hear and turned away again. 'Turning without receiving salutes from under ranking officers,' Alex called to him. Hawkeye and Trapper laughed with her, and they started back towards camp. 


	6. Shot

The group were walking towards Henry's office for a drink. Henry and Hawkeye were up the front, looking forward to the drink, Radar trailing behind them, Frank and Margaret talking to each other next, and Alex talking to Trapper and Klinger at the end of the line. The compound seemed strangely quiet, but Henry dismissed it.  
  
'Probably all at the officer's club,' he said. They were halfway between a military van someone had left on the road and Henry's office, when a bullet hit the ground. Margaret, Klinger, Trapper and Alex ran back to the shelter of the van, while the other four ran to the protection of Henry's office door. Heart beating fast, Alex looked carefully around the side of the van. On the roof of another medical van in the compound was a North Korean. He had a gun slung up on his shoulder and he was watching the area where they had just been very carefully.  
  
'What are we going to do? There isn't anywhere for us to go!' Trapper hissed.  
  
'The closest cover other than this is Henry's office, where the others went in. If we are careful, and quiet, I think we might be able to make it. The main thing is not the panic,' Alex said slowly. 'Got that? Don't panic. Listen to what I tell you, and we'll be fine.'  
  
'I'm the highest ranking officer here!' Margaret exclaimed.  
  
'Ok, Margaret, what do you suggest we do?' Alex asked simply. Margaret stood there, thinking for a minute. 'I have a plan, if you're willing to forget rank, Major,' Alex said. Alex's voice told the three with her not to question what she was doing, but to just do it.  
  
'I'm willing to forget my name, age and home address if you can get us out of this alive,' Trapper said.  
  
'Alright, we're going to arc out from the van slowly, hands on our heads. Hopefully, he should know we don't mean to harm him and he won't shoot us,' Alex said.  
  
'What if we moved the van closer to the building?' Klinger asked.  
  
'He'd shoot the driver as soon as the van was started up,' Alex said. 'Just do it the way I want you to, and we'll be fine.' She lifted her hands in the air, and slowly began to walk out into the open, curving slowly out from the van. Trapper hesitated for a second, but did the same and started to follow her, about a metre between them. Klinger gave Margaret a little shove, and she followed the two out into the open. The sniper watched them carefully, but didn't make a move. Klinger was out from behind the van and they edged along. Alex stopped, and waited until Trapper was level with her. She pushed him in the back, to tell him to keep going.  
  
'Start to curve in towards the door,' she said. From the doorway and windows of Henry's office, watched Henry, Frank, Hawkeye and Radar. No-one dared speak, in case the sniper thought they were planing an attack or something. Alex pushed Margaret and Klinger forwards then began to follow them. As they neared the door, Alex saw the soldiers eyes widen, and he slung his gun up to his shoulder. He was taking aim, and Alex's heart almost stopped. There was a gun shot, and Klinger hit the ground. Trapper and Margaret had made it in before he fired, but Alex threw herself onto the ground beside Klinger and began checking him over quickly. There was a hole in his left shoulder of his pink dress. She ripped the sleeve of the dress off, and checked his shoulder. Blood was everywhere.  
  
'I need help!' Alex yelled, not caring if the sniper went to shoot her. Hawkeye came out. Alex glanced up at the Korean. His gun was hanging down again now, so she turned all her attention back to Klinger.  
  
'What happened?' Alex heard Klinger asked as Hawkeye stopped beside them.  
  
'Don't move. You've been shot in the shoulder, and I want you to lay still. I don't think the Korean though it was very patriotic of you to wear a dress,' Alex whispered.  
  
'We don't have medical supplies in Henry's office. And we're going to have to be very careful in moving him,' Hawkeye said, glancing up at the sniper ever two minutes.  
  
'We'll improvise,' Alex replied. With difficulty, they picked Klinger up, and took him inside, the Korean watching their every movement. 


	7. I say we give him to the enemy!

'Come on, put him on the desk,' Henry said, pushing everything on the desk onto the floor. Klinger groaned and tried to sit up.  
  
'No, lay down,' Alex said firmly. 'You'll make it worse.'  
  
'Is it enough to go home?' Klinger asked.  
  
'No,' Trapper said after inspecting it.  
  
'Damn it,' Klinger said, and Alex smiled, though fear was flooding through her. She went to Henry's liqueur cabinet and took out a bottle of scotch. Taking the lid off, she handed it to Klinger.  
  
'Drink this. It'll numb your senses,' she told Klinger. Klinger was helped into a sitting position by Trapper and Radar, and he gulped some of the alcohol down. Next, Alex took the bottle from Klinger once he had drunk maybe a third of the bottle. She tipped some over the bullet wound.  
  
'It acts like a disinfectant,' Alex explained. 'Do we have tweezers, or anything?' Everyone shook their heads. Alex swore and examined the bullet hole again. 'Tongue depressors? Nails? Anything will do!' Alex said, looking around the tent. Henry suddenly took his hat off.  
  
'How about a lure? Will that work?' he asked.  
  
'It'll have to do,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Pick a lure, Henry,' Trapper said. Henry took a lure with a long hook in it from his hat, and handed it to Alex.  
  
'Maybe someone else should do this,' she said after looking at the lure for a minute. 'I'm no doctor.'  
  
'Pass it here,' Trapper said. He bent the hook to make it straighter, and carefully put it into the bloody hole in Klinger's shoulder. Somehow, he managed to get the bullet out.  
  
'Well, we can't sew it up. What do you suggest?' Trapper asked, putting the lure and bullet on a shelf.  
  
'We'll have to bandage it up for now,' Alex replied. She ripped the bottom of Klinger's dress off, and began to tie it roughly around the wound. 'Feeling ok?' she asked Klinger.  
  
'You owe me a new dress,' Klinger replied, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol.  
  
'I promise I'll buy you a new dress,' Alex said. 'And I also owe Henry a lure and a bottle of brandy.'  
  
'It was scotch,' Henry said.  
  
'Right, I owe you a bottle of scotch. But until I get to Seoul or Tokyo to get them, what are we going to do?' Alex said, making sure the bandage was on Klinger's arm properly.  
  
'I saw we give Klinger to the enemy. He obviously want's him,' Frank said.  
  
'Sorry, did I just hear you correctly, sir?' Alex asked, saying sir in the most sarcastic voice she could muster. 'Are you telling me, you'd let the manic out there kill one man in the false hope he'll leave us alone, sir?'  
  
'Well, he did shoot him,' Frank said.  
  
'Major, that doesn't mean anything. I can't believe you'd be so rotten to send someone out there to die so you could live,' Alex said.  
  
'Look, calm down,' Henry said. 'We're not sending anyone out there.'  
  
'No, Henry, let's do what Frank suggested. Let's send someone out there to be killed for no good reason, so Ferret Face can live,' Alex said, getting worked up.  
  
'Alex, calm down,' Hawkeye said. 'Maybe we can call a chopper in to have him shot down, or something.'  
  
'This close to camp? That's a bit dangerous, Frank might cope a bullet,' Alex said, shooting angry glares at the Major.  
  
'Alex, as your superior officer, I command you to shut up!' Margaret said.  
  
'No!' Alex yelled. 'Frank wants to send someone out there, fine, we'll send someone out there! I'm going!' And with that, Alex walked out of the door, and outside. Hawkeye ran to the door, and tried to pull her inside, but Alex pulled away.  
  
'Alex, come back inside before you're killed,' Hawkeye hissed. 'No,' Alex hissed back. She sat on the ground, where the sniper couldn't miss her. She sat on the ground, leg crossed and arms folded across her chest. She stared defiantly up at the North Korean, and waited. The Korean watched her for a few minutes, and Alex slowly calmed down. It hit her with a jolt that she was sitting defenseless on the ground with a dangerous man watching her from the roof of a military van.  
  
'Uh, Hawkeye, I'm ready to come back now,' she said, getting up slowly, and she started to make her way to the door. The Korean suddenly yelled something, and Alex stopped. 


	8. Hostage

'Doctor!' the Korean yelled. He pointed to Alex, then beckoned her.  
  
'Alex, come on,' Henry said from the doorway. Alex was shaking a little, but she didn't move from where she stood.  
  
'Doctor,' the sniper repeated.  
  
'Why is he asking for a doctor?' Trapper asked.  
  
'I'm no doctor,' Alex said loudly and clearly to the man on the roof.  
  
'Doctor,' the Korean said, and then began to jabber something they couldn't understand. He pointed his gun towards the door and motioned for the others to come out. Hawkeye, Trapper, Frank, Margaret, Henry and Radar all walked out, hands on their heads. The sniper was talking angrily.  
  
'He wants Klinger,' Alex said eventually.  
  
'See, I told you,' Frank said. Alex walked slowly to the door and went in to get Klinger.  
  
'You're not going to give me to him, are you?' Klinger was asking.  
  
'You're not going anywhere without us,' Alex was comforting. The soldier on the van waited until Alex and Klinger stopped, then climbed down from the vehicle.  
  
'If we had a gun, we could have shot him while his back was turned,' Frank hissed to the others.  
  
'Frank, shut up,' Hawkeye said. The sniper stopped, and motioned for them to move. Getting into single file, except Alex who was helping Klinger, they all walked away from camp. There was another van a mile away, and there were three people with it, all North Korean. Luckily, one spoke English. He talked to the one who'd brought them to the van first, then talked to the group from the 4077.  
  
'Who is the commanding officer? Or, if they are not here, the highest ranking one?' he asked.  
  
'I am,' Henry said, stepping forward.  
  
'I apologise for how my sniper has treated you. I told him not to shoot anyone unless threatened, but he has shot one of your. people,' the man said, after trying to decide what to refer to Klinger as. 'He found it insulting to our people that you would send men out here in female clothing.'  
  
'I can explain that,' Henry said. 'He wants to go home, so he doesn't have to fight your people.'  
  
'Why did you bring us here?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'We need a doctor for some of our wounded. Our surgeons are not as skilled as yours, and they will die otherwise,' the man told them.  
  
'Why not just drive up to the MASH unit?' Trapper asked.  
  
'If there were American MP's, they would have taken us prisoner. You must realise that there are many stories about what you do to prisoners, and we decided it would be easier to collect a few of you, and bring you to us,' he said. Alex nodded.  
  
'I understand the conflict you have. We'll operate,' she said.  
  
'Are you crazy?' Frank yelled loudly. A few guns were pointed in his direction.  
  
'Frank, why didn't you listen to Hawkeye when he told you to shut up?' Alex asked through clenched teeth. The head Korean soldier motioned for them to put down their guns.  
  
'Of course, we'll need a hostage, to discourage you from killing our soldiers on purpose,' he told them. There was an awkward silence.  
  
'I'll do it,' Alex said finally.  
  
'Alex, no, you can't! They can take Frank!' Hawkeye said as she said it.  
  
'May we please discuss this for a second?' Henry asked the Korean. After getting an approval nod, Henry turned away and the others crowded around him, voicing their disapproval's.  
  
'Henry, you can't let them take Alex as a hostage. They'll just have to trust us!' Hawkeye said.  
  
'There's no other way. Henry, I'm being hostage, whether you agree or not,' Alex said, her face set.  
  
'Alex, you can't be hostage, what if they decide to kill you anyway afterwards?' Trapper was asking.  
  
'Everyone, shut up!' Henry yelled after a second.  
  
'Wow, I think that was an order,' Hawkeye said, looking impressed.  
  
'Henry, please, I'm volunteering,' Alex said. Henry stared at the nurse for a few seconds.  
  
'You realise that there are only four doctors, two nurses and two men who have no medical knowledge here,' he said to her. 'If you go hostage, there'll only be one nurse between four doctors.' Alex was quiet.  
  
'I can't put anyone else in that position,' she said in an almost whisper. Trapper and Hawkeye glanced at each other.  
  
'Maybe if someone should go hostage with her,' Radar suggested.  
  
'Maybe we should refuse to help them,' Frank said.  
  
'Frank, don't you realise if we refuse, we'll all be shot?' Alex asked. She turned to the Korean soldier waiting for them to finish their discussion. 'I'm going hostage,' she said.  
  
'No, she's not!' Trapper yelled, but Henry put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
'She's going hostage,' he told the angry Hawkeye and Trapper. The Korean nodded, and two soldiers with guns stepped forward, their guns trained on Alex.  
  
'You do something we don't like, and we'll shoot her,' the doctors were told. Klinger was helped over to Alex by Radar, and the two were left with their guards as the others went onto the van to tend to the hurt men.  
  
'Are you ok? You look a little shaken,' Klinger said.  
  
'I'm fine,' Alex said, looking anything but fine. She sat down, knees up to her chin, and head resting on her folded arms on her knees. The others came out of the van, carrying wounded. Hawkeye gave Trapper a meaningful glance before they put the wounded on the ground to operate. There were only six men, bloodied up and in a lot of pain, but it took them a while to help them, as they could only work in two groups, being a person short. It took them two hours to help the enemy soldiers, and Hawkeye was happy to see that the chances of their survival was very high.  
  
'We've fixed up your men. Are you going to let us go?' Henry asked.  
  
'I believe you have done a very fine job, and so.' the Korean was saying but he stopped when Frank tried to make a run for it. Guns were pointed at Alex's head, and Margaret yelled at Frank to stop.  
  
'You're going to get us all killed!' she screeched at Frank, who had stumbled on a rock.  
  
'Come back, slowly,' Frank was told. Alex was shaking badly, the guns still pointed at her head. Frank came back cautiously.  
  
'Are you still going to let us go?' Klinger asked, leaning against a tree. The enemy soldiers were staring angrily at Frank, who'd sheepishly come back, and the people from the 4077 were waiting with held breaths.  
  
'You are not to tell anyone of this,' the English speaking soldier told them.  
  
'Tell no-one, got it,' Henry said. There was a few moments of waiting, when the Korean said something to his men, and the guns were lowered from Alex's head.  
  
'Thank you,' Hawkeye said, going to help Alex up. The eight of them left, Trapper helping Klinger along, and Hawkeye helping the shattered Alex back to camp. 


	9. Andy

'Are you ok? You look paler than the mashed potatoes,' Trapper asked Alex when they got back to camp. Henry and a nurse was fixing up Klinger's arm properly, and Frank and Margaret were in Margaret's tent, 'praying thanks' for their lucky escape.  
  
'I think I need a pick me up,' Alex said, licking her dry lips. They took her to the Swamp, where she sat down on Trapper's cot and Hawkeye poured her a martini.  
  
'You're not ok, we can see that. Want to talk about it?' Hawkeye asked, handing Alex a martini. Alex looked up at the surgeons and her hand fluttered to the scar on her cheek.  
  
'Have you been held hostage before?' she asked them.  
  
'No, not really,' Trapper said, looking at Hawkeye.  
  
'Can't say we have,' Hawkeye added.  
  
'I was taken hostage once, before I came here. You can see by my scar, it wasn't as lucky as this time round,' Alex said, gulping her martini down quickly in one go. 'I'll have another one, thanks.' Trapper refilled her glass.  
  
'So, how'd it happen?' he asked, sitting down on Hawkeye's bunk. Hawkeye sat down beside him, and both stared at Alex.  
  
'Our MASH unit was overtaken by enemy soldiers, I'm not sure who. They killed a lot of people, and I tried to stop them. Their leader gave me this cut on my cheek using a small knife. He would have killed me, if Andy hadn't killed him first,' Alex drank her martini in one go again. 'Fill it up,' she said. Trapper obliged. 'Andy was a doctor in our MASH unit. A bit like everyone here combined. He womanized about, like you two, followed his own set of rues, but expected everyone else to go by army regulations like Frank and Margaret, enjoyed fishing, like Henry, strong persistence, a lot like Klinger, and, well you get the idea. I could go on for ages. I guess that's why I felt so at home here. Andy was my closest friend, like Margaret and Frank closest friends. Well, when he killed their commanding officer, the enemy got angry. He was killed on the spot, in front of me. Blood have never looked so horrible to me before. Luckily, MP's came and stopped them before any more people were killed,' Alex told them, staring into her cup. She drank it as well, then took the pitcher from Trapper. She drank a lot from it, and handed it back to the shocked man.  
  
'What happened then?' Hawkeye asked, equally shocked.  
  
'A medal of honour was sent home to his fiancée. His fiancée! After how we loved each other, I found out he had a fiancée. I never hated someone so much before,' Alex said, a tear running down her face. 'I was sent to Tokyo to see someone about my ordeal at my unit. After about a month, I felt better. I had talked about Andy, and how he sacrificed himself for me, and I stopped hating him so much. Then was sent here. I was happy, confident, but after today, I feel as if I hate him even more. How dare he not tell me about his fiancée!' Alex's words were becoming more slurred as she talked. She went to take the pitcher from Trapper again, but Trapper moved it out of her reach.  
  
'No way, you've had enough,' he told her. Alex began crying, and the two helped her to the supply tent, were it was quiet, and she could sleep the alcohol off in peace.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Choppers! Choppers, everyone, come on!' Radar was yelling and running around the compound. Hawkeye and Trapper began running for the helicopters which were now landing up on the landing pad. Alex came out of the supplies room, disorientated and still not herself. She began to run towards the choppers as well, going in a slightly crocked line. She banged into Hawkeye.  
  
'What are you doing?' Hawkeye asked her.  
  
'I'm here to help,' she said, shrugging away from Hawkeye.  
  
'Alex, you're still drunker than me and Trap together on a day with no patients,' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'I'm fine,' Alex slurred, and she ran ahead of Hawkeye to where the stretchers lay.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
After scrubbing up and putting the soldiers into some sort of order, Trapper and Alex were operating together on a patient.  
  
'Are you ok? You look green,' Trapper said.  
  
'I'm gonna be sick,' Alex said, and she ran out of the room, hand ripping the mask from her face.  
  
'I need another nurse!' Trapper yelled.  
  
'Henry, I think Alex should get an award, or a promotion, or something,' Hawkeye said, concentrating on the shrapnel he was trying to remove from the kid in front of him.  
  
'What, for turning up on duty, drunk?' Frank asked snidely.  
  
'Frank, she probably saved our lives. Margaret, Klinger and I would still be hiding behind that van now, if it hadn't been for Alex,' Trapper said, a new nurse coming up to his table.  
  
'Didn't help Klinger much, though, did it?' Frank asked.  
  
'Frank, shut up. Keep going, Pierce,' Henry said, ripping his gloves off and waiting for his next patient.  
  
'She kept her cool while under fire, and wouldn't leave Klinger out there in the open with that Korean on the roof. Then, she risked her own life rather than sending someone else out, and then again when we were asked for a hostage. She's a brave kid,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Well, we'll see what we can do. I can't promise anything, keep that in mind,' Henry replied, looking over his next patient quickly as two nurses brought him in. 


	10. A walk with Hawkeye

A few hours later, Alex was found, her head in her hands where the surgeons and nurses took of their surgical gowns. She jumped when Hawkeye touched her lightly on the shoulder, but smiled up at him when she saw it was them.  
  
'I'm sorry I didn't do anything today,' she said.  
  
'Are you kidding? You've done heaps today!' Trapper exclaimed.  
  
'I ran out in the middle of surgery,' Alex said, shaking her head.  
  
'You shouldn't have been in surgery in your state in the first place,' Henry told her, throwing his things into the white bag.  
  
'And anyway, you saved a few people's lives even without helping us operate,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'That was still all today? It feels like years ago,' Alex smiled sadly to herself.  
  
'Actually,' Trapper looked at his watch, 'it was yesterday. It's two in the morning right now.' Margaret and Frank walked through.  
  
'Alex, you should be getting to sleep, in case we get more wounded in the morning,' Margaret said, her voice not as harsh as it would have been normally.  
  
'Yes, major,' Alex said tiredly, and she left without another word.  
  
'Take it easy on her, ok Margaret?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'I am,' Margaret replied. 'Like you said, she saved my life.'  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
The next morning, Alex went into the mess tent. Klinger waved her over with his good arm, and after collecting breakfast, she went and sat opposite him.  
  
'You ok? I heard from Hawkeye and Trapper you weren't feeling too good,' Klinger said, looking sympathetic.  
  
'I'm fine,' Alex said. 'How's your arm? Is it feeling ok?'  
  
'It's sore, but Henry said it'd be fine in a week or so. Wish I could use it to get home, though,' Klinger said, looking at the bandaged shoulder. The tent door banged open and Alex flinched.  
  
'I've got a slight hang over. Haven't drunk this much since high school,' she said. Hawkeye and Trapper came over.  
  
'Feeling ok?' Trapper asked. Alex shook her head.  
  
'Every loud noise is like a sledge hammer to the brain,' she said. She stood up and pushed her tray away.  
  
'Where are you going?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'I'm not hungry. I was thinking of going on a walk,' Alex replied, heading towards the door. The three men watched her, and Hawkeye stood up as well.  
  
'I'm going to go keep an eye on her,' he said, and he followed Alex out the door. He ran to catch up to Alex and walked beside her.  
  
'Want me to come with you?' he asked her.  
  
'You can if you want,' Alex replied. After they left the camp, Alex turned to Hawkeye. 'I'm sorry for how I behaved the other day. Just because I was upset, doesn't mean I should have gotten drunk. I didn't do anything stupid, did I?'  
  
'Not at all,' Hawkeye replied. 'You told us about Andy, and that was it.' Alex nodded.  
  
'You can probably tell it was pretty hard on me, him being killed and all,' she said. Hawkeye nodded sympathetically.  
  
'Did you ever write to her? The woman he was going to marry after the war?' he asked.  
  
'Yes. She wrote back, once or twice, and we were both angry at him for what he did to us. We were never angry at each other though, well, at least I wasn't,' Alex sighed. 'We both decided he wasn't that great anyway. Convinced us we loved him after a few drinks at the club. He treated me like crap, and her not much better. He was good looking, but that was the only good thing we could say about him.' There was quiet for a few minutes as the two walked through the long grass, heading towards the orphanage. 'You're not married, or engaged, are you?' Alex asked eventually.  
  
'No,' Hawkeye replied, shaking his head. Alex moved an arm around his waist. Hawkeye peeled it off him quickly.  
  
'What?' Alex asked, looking a little hurt.  
  
'I don't want you to be hurt. But maybe, just maybe, you're feeling down on Andy and feel you need someone to love you to ease your pain, even if you're not in love with them,' Hawkeye explained. Alex turned away.  
  
'You're probably right. And anyway, the relationship would only last for as long as the war, wouldn't it?' she asked.  
  
'What makes you think that?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'The nurses told me what you told them when there was a false cease fire,' Alex explained. 'You told them you were married with kids.'  
  
'I wasn't ready for the relationship they were looking for. I'm pretty sure they had marriage written in their eyes,' Hawkeye said. Alex laughed.  
  
'It's good being with you, Hawkeye,' she said. 'You and Trapper have the sense of humour Andy never had.'  
  
'Obviously, you deserved better than him,' Hawkeye told her. Alex smiled at him again.  
  
'Thanks, Hawk,' she said. 


	11. Three day pass to Tokyo

'Henry, can I please have a three day pass to Tokyo?' Alex asked, standing in front of Henry's desk.  
  
'Hmm? Three day pass to Tokyo? Yeah, alright. You've had a rough couple of days, you deserve it,' Henry said, looking up from the papers Radar had put in front of him.  
  
'I'll go get the forms for that, sir,' Radar said, as Henry started to ask for the forms he needed to give Alex three days in Tokyo. Alex grinned at Radar as he walked out, and Alex sat down on one of the chairs.  
  
'What sort of scotch do you like?' Alex asked Henry.  
  
'You don't have to replace it. You probably saved Klinger's life, so it's even,' Henry said.  
  
'Ok,' Alex said. 'But I did promise.'  
  
'Well, promise not to follow that promise,' Henry said as Radar came back into the room.  
  
'All you have to do, sir, is sign here, here and initial here,' Radar told him. Henry signed the forms, and gave them back to Radar.  
  
'You leave tomorrow,' Alex was told.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex was in the nurses tent, packing a bag, when Trapper and Hawkeye came in. 'You're not allowed in here I would have thought,' she said grinning at them.  
  
'How'd you get a three day pass without forging Henry's signature?' Trapper howled, pretending to be annoyed. Alex laughed.  
  
'We're here to help you pack,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'I don't need help,' Alex told them.  
  
'Well, how else are we gonna fit in those bags with all those clothes in them?' Trapper asked. Alex laughed again, and pushed them out the door.  
  
'We'll see you in Tokyo!' Hawkeye yelled though the closing door.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex was sitting in the running jeep, waiting for a driver.  
  
'I wish you guys were coming,' she said to her friends.  
  
'Not if you'd seen how we wrecked havoc in Tokyo last time we went,' Hawkeye said, making Alex laugh.  
  
'Never mind, I'll be back in this hell hole in a few days,' she said. Her driver came up, and got into the driver's seat of the jeep.  
  
'Have a wonderful time,' Trapper told her.  
  
'I will,' Alex shouted over the roar of the motor as the jeep drove away. She waved over her shoulder at the people watching her go, then settled down to enjoy the ride.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Henry, I think we should organise something for when Alex gets back. You know, something to thank her for her bravery,' Trapper said. He and Hawkeye were sitting in Henry's office, helping themselves to Henry's liqueur cabinet.  
  
'I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but we have less than three days to organise it,' Henry said, holding his glass out so Hawkeye could fill it.  
  
'I reckon we could pull it off,' Hawkeye replied.  
  
'What sort of something were you thinking of?' Henry asked.  
  
'A party maybe. Maybe get her a medal,' Trapper suggested.  
  
'A medal will take too long to get here, and anyway, we'd have to say we helped enemy soldiers. We'd get into a lot of trouble for that,' Henry said. 'But I have no problem with a party,' he added quickly.  
  
'We can definitely organise a party by the time Alex gets back,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'What about Frank and Hotlips?' Trapper asked.  
  
'We'll work around them. Maybe trap them in the supply tent during the party so they can't bring in any party busting generals in,' Hawkeye grinned.  
  
'First, see how they react to it. Maybe you'll be surprised. Maybe they'll love the idea,' Henry said.  
  
'I doubt it,' Trapper groaned.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Hawkeye knocked on the tent door.  
  
'Come in,' Margaret called from inside. Hawkeye and Trapper went into the tent, where Margaret was combing her hair.  
  
'Hello, Margaret,' Hawkeye said pleasantly.  
  
'What do you two want?' Margaret asked irritably.  
  
'We're holding a party and we don't want no big nosed generals coming in at three in the morning to bust it up,' Trapper told her.  
  
'What sort of party?' Margaret asked. 'Does Colonel Blake know about it?'  
  
'He does. It's a party for when Alex gets back, to thank her for saving a few people's skins,' Hawkeye explained. 'Including yours.'  
  
'Oh,' Margaret's attitude changed. 'That's different. I agree, she deserves some sort of reward.' Hawkeye and Trapper grinned at their good luck.  
  
'We'll let you break it gently to Frank,' Trapper said.  
  
'See you then,' Hawkeye said as they left. 


	12. The party

Alex got back from Tokyo, a little tired, but feeling a lot better than when she left. All of her angry on Andy had been let out, and she'd had a great three days of relaxing in at a bath house. She was a little disappointed that no-one showed up to welcome her back, though. Suddenly, Hawkeye and Trapper appeared. They were wearing their Hawaiian shirts, and very large grins.  
  
'Hi, guys,' Alex said, getting down from the jeep. Trapper grabbed her bag before the driver took the jeep back to were it belonged, and the three began walking towards the nurse's tent.  
  
'How was Tokyo?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Fantastic,' Alex replied. 'It's weird, but I'm actually glad to be back home.'  
  
'You think this dump is home?' Trapper asked.  
  
'Home is where the heart is,' Alex explained.  
  
'True,' Hawkeye said.  
  
When they went past the nurse's tent without stopping, Alex asked 'Where are we going?'  
  
'You'll see,' Hawkeye told her mysteriously. Trapper went up behind Alex and put a colourful silk scarf around her head, so she couldn't see.  
  
'Come on guys, not funny,' Alex laughed. She continued when she felt Hawkeye and Trapper move away from her. 'I know this camp just as well as you do!' she yelled after them. She went to take the scarf from her head, but Trapper yelled out.  
  
'No, don't take it off! You have to find us!' he yelled. Alex shook her head, still laughing.  
  
'This is stupid,' she replied, but she followed them anyway. The led her around the Swamp, past Henry's tent a few times, and through the surgery room. She followed them into the officer's club, and Hawkeye stopped her as she entered the building.  
  
'You can take the scarf off now,' he said into her ear. Alex pulled it up over her head, and gasped. The officers club had been done up with toilet paper and streamers. It seemed Radar had also dug up some balloons.  
  
'Oh, wow,' Alex said, still shocked. All of the nurses and enlisted men from the 4077 MASH were there, watching her with wide smiles and laughter. Someone put a record on, and everyone started dancing. Alex noticed Frank was looking tipsy, he was halfway through a bottle of something. Klinger came up to Alex, dressed in a green dress, and offered his arm for them to dance. Laughing at Klinger's new outfit, Alex accepted and they took to the dance floor. After Klinger, Alex danced with Henry, Radar, Trapper, Hawkeye and even Frank, who was off his head. During the tenth song, she danced with Klinger again. The scarf was in her pocket, and she remembered having it.  
  
'I'm guessing this is yours,' she said, taking her hand from Klinger's to retrieve it.  
  
'No, it's for you. I ordered it in a few weeks ago, but thought it'd suit you better,' Klinger told her. Alex blushed and thanked him. She knew it was his own way of thanking her for saving his life. Hawkeye came up to the pair and tapped Klinger on the shoulder.  
  
'Mind if I cut in?' he asked.  
  
'Be my guest,' Klinger replied, moving surprisingly graciously from them for someone in high heels. Hawkeye took Klinger's place as Alex wrapped the scarf around her neck.  
  
'Having fun?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Danced off my feet,' Alex replied grinning. 'Never danced for so long. But I'll do this last dance with you.' The music slowed down and Alex laughed. 'Of all the luck, I get a slow, close dance,' she said.  
  
'Yeah, of all the rotten luck,' Hawkeye said, pulling her a little closer.  
  
'You fixed it so it's be like this, didn't you?' Alex accused.  
  
'Maybe,' Hawkeye shrugged. Alex laughed, but danced with him anyway.  
  
'Any special reason you wanted to dance with me?' Alex asked.  
  
'No special reason, except I love you,' Hawkeye replied. Alex smiled, and leant her head on Hawkeye's shoulder. 


	13. The party's end

The song soon ended, and Trapper motioned for it to be shut off.  
  
'You all know why you're here, Hawkeye and I offered free booze and you all showed up,' he said. The crowd laughed a little and waited for him to go on. 'Seriously, you know this party is being held in Alex's honour, as she saved a few of us from having our heads shot off. She kept calm and cool in a situation, and took control, much to the dislike of Major Houlihan. Thanks to her, me, Klinger and Hotlips are still alive. And that's why we're all here.' Trapper sat down. People clapped and the record player was put back on. Alex went to the bar and asked the person behind it for a martini.  
  
'Make it three,' Hawkeye and Trapper came up behind her. The glasses were put onto the bench, and Alex picked hers up.  
  
'Seriously, if had just been me there, I'd still be behind that van,' Trapper told her.  
  
'Well, I didn't like the idea of staying there the whole war,' Alex replied, smiling. Eventually, at about three in the morning, Henry ordered people to start heading to bed. Alex stopped Henry, Hawkeye, Trapper, Radar, Klinger, Margaret and Frank from leaving.  
  
'I brought a few little gifts back from Tokyo, even though Henry tried to make me promise not to bother,' Alex said. She went to her bag which was sitting inside the door, and pulled it over to the small group. She took out a whistle, and went to Frank, who was now asleep and drooling on the bar. She put the string around his neck. 'That's for Frank, so he might have a little more control over people,' she said.  
  
'You realise we'll have to take that away from him sooner or later?' Trapper asked. 'It'll drive us crazy.'  
  
'Plus, there's probably a safety warning on it somewhere saying for ages three and up,' Hawkeye added. Alex laughed, and brought out a bottle of scotch and a new lure for Henry's hat.  
  
'I told you I'd replace them,' she told him as he took them from her, dazed. 'And taking about replacing things, Klinger, I'm sorry I couldn't get you the same exact dress, but I got you a skirt instead.' Alex pulled out a long red skirt.  
  
'It'll go great with my red heels!' Klinger said with glee, holding it up to his waist. Alex laughed at his reaction, and kept on going.  
  
'Hawkeye, Trapper, I got you two a new jar of olives for your martini's. I know you're running low, and I've had my fair share of them, so it's my turn to buy a jar,' Alex said, brining out a reasonable sized jar of olives. Trapper took them from her, and grinned thanks.  
  
'We'll treasure them and never open them. Well, at least not until the last jar is finished,' Hawkeye told her. Alex smiled and then handed Margaret a new brush and Radar a pen.  
  
'Well, thank you, from the bottoms of our hearts,' Henry said. 'But it really is late, and we do need sleep, so off to your tents you go.'  
  
'See you in the morning, Henry,' Hawkeye yawned as they all walked out of the Officer's club and went their separate ways to their tents. Radar helped lug Alex's bag back to the nurse's tent before going to his own tent. Laying in her cot, Alex thought about the night, then realised with a jolt what Hawkeye had told her when she had asked why he wanted a slow dance with her.  
  
'No special reason, except I love you.' 


	14. Not eating

'Ohh, my head,' Frank moaned. Hawkeye and Trapper smirked at Frank holding his head.  
  
'What's the matter, Frank?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'You didn't get intoxicated last night, did you?' Trapper added.  
  
'None of your business!' Frank yelled before brining a hand quickly to his head as it ached with pain. Trapper and Hawkeye grinned at each other as Klinger came into the tent.  
  
'Oh, I thought Alex was here,' he said a little disappointedly.  
  
'Doesn't she usually have breakfast with you about this time?' Trapper asked.  
  
'She does, but I can't find her,' Klinger replied. He left the Swamp, and the door banged shut.  
  
'Ohh.' Frank moaned, and Hawkeye and Trapper began to laugh to themselves.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Klinger bumped into Alex coming around Henry's office.  
  
'There you are,' Klinger said, relieved.  
  
'Oh, Klinger. I'm sorry, were you waiting for me at breakfast?' Alex asked. 'I should have come and found you. I wasn't feeling very hungry. I'm sorry.'  
  
'It's ok,' Klinger said. 'I just thought something might have happened to you.'  
  
'Well, it didn't. I am really, really sorry,' Alex apologised again.  
  
'I told you, it doesn't matter. I'll see you at lunch though, ok?' Klinger asked. Alex looked guilty.  
  
'Uh, yeah, lunch. I'll see you then,' she replied as she headed towards the Swamp. She opened the door with a loud thud, and Frank moaned in pain again.  
  
'Hello, Alex. The usual?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'What's wrong with him?' Alex asked as Hawkeye poured her a drink from the Still.  
  
'Hangover,' Trapper replied with a grin. Alex took the martini glass Hawkeye offered her and took a sip. Frank glared at them and left the tent.  
  
'Hope you feel better soon, sir!' Alex yelled as loud as she could through the tent wall. From where they were, they saw Frank grab his head in pain. The three laughed and Alex sat down in one of the chairs. She leaned back and closed her eyes.  
  
'Klinger was looking for you before. Said you weren't at breakfast,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Yeah, I've already seen Klinger. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't go,' Alex replied lazily.  
  
'You shouldn't be missing meals,' Trapper told her severely. Alex opened her eyes again.  
  
'It was one meal,' she said.  
  
'I don't blame you. That food would make a starving man not want to eat,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'I'll have a big lunch to make up for it,' Alex said to Trapper.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Klinger met Alex already sitting down at one of the tables. He put his tray down opposite her.  
  
'Aren't you eating?' he asked.  
  
'Already ate,' Alex said, not looking Klinger in the eye when she said it.  
  
'You seem preoccupied. You ok?' Klinger asked.  
  
'I'm fine,' Alex replied. While Klinger ate, Alex talked to him about the sights she'd seen in Tokyo.  
  
'Yeah, I've been there,' Klinger said, mouth full of food when Alex mentioned a small bah house. 'The service there is great.' He swallowed and then stood up. 'I have guard duty, so I'll be seeing you later,' he told Alex. The young nurse nodded.  
  
'Ok. See you later,' she said. Klinger left the tent, and Alex got up from the table a few minutes later. From a secretive corner in the room, Radar watched her. 


	15. Hiding

'Mail call,' Radar said, coming into the Swamp. Hawkeye and Trapper looked up expectantly.  
  
'Whatcha got for us, Radar?' Trapper asked.  
  
'Let's see. a letter from Crab Apple cove,' Radar said, handing an envelope to Hawkeye.  
  
'Hurry up,' Trapper said irritably as Radar flicked through the small stack of letters.  
  
'And a letter from your wife,' Radar finally found what he was looking for and handed it to Trapper. 'Sirs, I've been watching Alex closely, like you asked,' Radar began.  
  
'Ah, don't worry about that any more. She's fine,' Hawkeye said, waving a hand at him as he scanned the letter his father had sent him.  
  
'She's not, Hawkeye,' Radar said. Hawkeye and Trapper looked up from their mail.  
  
'What do you mean, she's not? She's not what?' Trapper asked. Radar took a deep breath.  
  
'She's not fine. She hasn't had a full meal since that day with the Koreans,' he told them. Hawkeye and Trapper glanced at each other.  
  
'What about in Tokyo? She could have eaten then,' Hawkeye asked. Radar shook his head.  
  
'I had a man follow her. She didn't eat in Tokyo, just went to a couple of bars,' he told them. Hawkeye and Trapper stood up together.  
  
'I told her missing meals isn't good for her,' Trapper said.  
  
'What's she trying to do, get through the war on martini's alone?' Hawkeye asked at the same time.  
  
'I'll go find her,' Radar said as both opened their mouths to shout at him. He ran out of the tent, in search for Alex.  
  
'I hate it when he does that,' Hawkeye said to Trapper.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Is lieutenant Dustin in there?' Radar asked a nurse coming out of the nurse's showers.  
  
'You mean Alex? Nah, no one's seen her since lunch,' the nurse replied.  
  
'Rats,' Radar said, and he headed towards the nurse's tents again, hoping Alex would be there this time.  
  
'Look, we'll tell Alex you're looking for her if you'll stay away from our tent!' a nurse exploded when radar stuck his head in. 'This is the fifth time you've been in here looking for her!' Radar made a hasty retreat, and saw Klinger pacing the camp, gun resting on his shoulder.  
  
'Klinger, have you seen Alex recently?' Radar asked.  
  
'I saw her at lunch. Recent enough?' Klinger asked, watching Radar carefully with his dark eyes.  
  
'No. If you see her around, tell her Hawkeye and Trapper are looking for her,' Radar replied. Klinger nodded and continued his prowl. Radar checked the mess tent, the kitchen, Henry's office, the supply room, Pre-op, and everywhere else he could think of, even the latrines. Alex was no-where to be found. Head down, Radar went back to the Swamp.  
  
'No sign of her,' he told them.  
  
'I hope she's ok,' Hawkeye said worriedly.  
  
'She might have blacked out somewhere,' Trapper suggested.  
  
'Well, she's not in camp,' Radar told them. Both men groaned.  
  
'She could be anywhere!' Hawkeye exclaimed.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
In fact, Alex was hiding in the back of the supply tent. She'd heard Radar come in and call her, but hadn't answered. She felt guilty about lying to Klinger, Hawkeye and Trapper, but she was choosing not to eat for a reason. It had been a great strain on Alex to go hostage again, and remember the blood of someone she knew. Three days in Tokyo talking to some quack psychiatrist might get rid of the hate that had grown in her chest, but it wouldn't lessen the sick feeling in her stomach that made her feel like she was going to spew up every time she ate. That would take something else.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Supply room, Frank,' Margaret whispered to Frank as she passed him in the compound. Frank grinned and nodded. He may have a hangover, but Margaret was a great cure for headaches. He wandered down by himself, five minutes after Margaret had suggested it to him and went in. Margaret came in a few minutes later, and they embraced.  
  
'Excuse me, are you two ok?' Alex asked in an annoyed tone from the spare cot in the supplies tent. Margaret and Frank jumped apart.  
  
'Alex! What are you doing? Get out!' Margaret yelled. Frank flinched at every word.  
  
'I have every right to be in here,' Alex replied coolly. Suddenly, she felt sick. Margaret and Frank were doing the same sort of this she and Andy did when he was alive. Alex turned and the sick feeling slowly went away.  
  
'Alex, are you ok?' Margaret was asking softly.  
  
'I'm fine,' Alex said for what seemed the fifth time that day. 'Why does everyone ask me that?' She yelled the question as loud as she could, making Frank flinch again.  
  
'You do look a little sick,' Frank admitted. Alex got up disgustedly.  
  
'Have the supply tent. Do what you want in here. Just don't talk to me,' she said angrily. She walked out, and went to Father Mulchay's tent. Father Mulchay was inside, reading from a bible.  
  
'Oh, hello, Alex,' he said. 'It's nice to finally meet you properly.'  
  
'Father Mulchay, is it alright if I just sit in here quietly? I don't want anyone to know, though,' Alex said.  
  
'Of course. You may stay here for as long as you want,' Father Mulchay said. He began talking to Alex cheerfully, but Alex's mind was else where. 


	16. A tricky Poker game

Hawkeye and Trapper were sitting in the mess tent. They had agreed with Klinger and Radar that if she hadn't shown up by 2100 hours, they'd tell Henry and organise a search party. Alex came in a little bit after eight. Without collecting a tray, she sat down with the four of them.  
  
'Hi guys,' she said, looking down the table. No one replied.  
  
'We've been looking for you all day,' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'Have you? I had no idea. I've been up on the hills,' Alex lied.  
  
'Radar tells us you haven't been eating,' Trapper said.  
  
'I've been eating!' Alex exclaimed.  
  
'You haven't had a proper meal since I was shot,' Klinger said bluntly.  
  
'I.' Alex faltered for a second.  
  
'Come on, Alex, what's the matter?' Hawkeye asked. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to get away, and realised how thin it had gotten.  
  
'You wouldn't understand,' Alex said, a few tears breaking through her closed eyes.  
  
'Come on, sit down,' Klinger pleaded. Alex sat back down after a while, but refused to look at any of them.  
  
'Alex, why haven't you been eating?' Trapper asked. Alex sent a few angry looks at Radar when she realised he had dobbed her in.  
  
'I just haven't felt like eating,' Alex said. She got up, but this time, no- one tried to stop her.  
  
'What are we going to do?' Klinger groaned.  
  
'I think we need to trick her into eating,' Hawkeye said.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex came into the Swamp, where Hawkeye and Trapper were sitting, shuffling cards.  
  
'Oh, hey Alex. Want to play poker?' Hawkeye asked. Alex sat down suspiciously.  
  
'What's the catch?' she asked.  
  
'No catch,' Trapper said. 'Just a friendly game of cards.'  
  
'Who else is playing?' Alex asked.  
  
'We've asked Henry to come and play. Radar is getting him right now,' Hawkeye said. Henry came in a few minutes later and Hawkeye dealt. Alex was doing well for the first half, but then her game began to slip.  
  
'It's not eating, that's what it is. You don't eat, you don't win,' Trapper commented. Henry raised an eyebrow, but he didn't ask what was going on. Alex began to lose chips quickly. Soon, she was writing out IOUs to Hawkeye and Trapper.  
  
'You're cheating somehow, aren't you?' Alex asked. She looked over her shoulder to peer into the darkness around the tent.  
  
'We're not cheating!' Trapper exclaimed.  
  
'Sure you aren't,' Alex said sarcastically under her breath. Eventually, Henry called it a night.  
  
'You guys have cleaned me out tonight. I'll be going before I have to write my own IOUs,' he said before standing up and leaving. Alex also stood up to leave.  
  
'Uh-uh, you have to pay your gambling debts,' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'I don't have any money,' Alex said. 'You cleaned me out like you did Henry.'  
  
'We'll make you a deal. We'll forget these IOUs,' Trapper said, ripping the pieces of paper up.  
  
'If you eat something,' Hawkeye finished. Klinger came into the tent, wheeling a trolley with half decent food on it.  
  
'You rigged this game, didn't you?' Alex asked.  
  
'Maybe,' Trapper replied. 'Now eat.' Alex stared at the trolley with the food on it. She took up a fork and began to eat it slowly. Her eating got faster as she realised how hungry she really was. Trapper and Hawkeye stopped her.  
  
'Slow down, you'll make yourself sick,' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'Eat, don't eat, make up your mind,' Alex said. She stepped back away from the trolley and Hawkeye and Trapper let her go.  
  
'Are you going to eat properly, or are we going to have to force feed you every meal?' Trapper asked. Alex looked at her friends.  
  
'I'll eat properly, if you promise not to trick me like that again,' she replied.  
  
'It was either that or kidnap you on your way to the nurse's showers and make you eat it that way,' Hawkeye replied. Alex gave a short, dry laugh and left the Swamp. 


	17. Another talk to Hawkeye

'I don't think she's forgiven us for the poker trick,' Hawkeye said to Trapper three days after they had given Alex her first proper meal in days. The nurse hadn't set foot into the Swamp since then, and refused to talk to either of them, Radar or Klinger.  
  
'We should talk to her about it,' Trapper said, looking up from the letter he was writing.  
  
'I plan to. I'm going to trap her in the Supply tent with me and make her talk,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Are you sure that's all you'll be doing?' Trapper asked cheekily. Hawkeye threw a pillow at his head.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex turned at the sound of the supply tent opening as she was doing a stock take, expecting maybe Frank and Margaret. Instead, Hawkeye stood there.  
  
'Can I help you, Captain?' she asked.  
  
'Alex, you know I don't like the term "Captain",' Hawkeye told her.  
  
'I'm sorry, sir,' Alex replied, not looking at him. Hawkeye wrapped his arms around her.  
  
'Come on, Alex,' he whispered into her ear. 'We only did it because we all love you and don't want you to get sick.' Alex shrugged Hawkeye off.  
  
'You don't understand,' she said. 'It's like I can't control things. I couldn't stop from the Koreans from killing Andy, I couldn't help from loving or hating Andy, I can't stop the stupid war, I couldn't even help Klinger being shot. Every time I look at Klinger, I see him hitting the ground after being shot, and I feel sick, like if I so much as take a mouthful of food, I'll choke on it and die.'  
  
'I understand,' Hawkeye asked. 'It's how I feel sometimes. My best friend died on the surgery table, in front of me, because I couldn't save him.' Alex turned around to face Hawkeye and he noticed tears in her eyes.  
  
'I'm so sorry, Hawkeye,' she said quietly.  
  
'But we can control some things. We can choose how we act towards each other, and how we're going to act to get through this miserable war,' Hawkeye told Alex.  
  
'I'm sorry, Hawkeye. I'll try and remember that,' Alex replied. She gave him a small smile, and Hawkeye smiled back. Radar walked in and realised the two were in there.  
  
'Oh! Sorry!' he said, backing out the door quickly.  
  
'No, Radar, it's not like that!' Hawkeye said, going to the door quickly. Alex started laughing. Hawkeye pulled the short company clerk through the door of the supply room.  
  
'We weren't doing anything, Radar,' Alex explained, still giggling. 'Just talking.'  
  
'Oh,' Radar said. 'Well, these came in for you today, Alex.' Radar handed Alex a small bunch of letters held together with a rubber band and left quickly.  
  
'Aren't you going to open them?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Nah, they'll still have the same thing written on them later,' Alex said. She turned towards the shelf and began doing her stock take again.  
  
'Need help?' Hawkeye asked. Alex laughed.  
  
'If you hang around, this won't get done,' she told him. Hawkeye grinned.  
  
'Maybe it will, maybe it won't,' he said.  
  
'Radar thinks we're not doing anything in here. What if he walks in to tell us something and we are doing something?' Alex giggled.  
  
'Oh well, he left pretty quick last time,' Hawkeye said, moving up close to Alex. She pushed him away.  
  
'No, Hawkeye,' she said firmly. 'I don't want to ruin our friendship.' Margaret walked in and gave a short scream. Frank ran in after her.  
  
'What are you doing?' Margaret asked loudly.  
  
'Doing a stock take on supplies,' Alex replied.  
  
'Oh no you weren't!' Frank said and he stormed out.  
  
'You'll be hearing from Colonel Blake about this,' Margaret added and she followed Frank out.  
  
'Great. Now I'll have them trying to get me shipped out,' Hawkeye groaned.  
  
'We weren't doing anything!' Alex yelled out the door. 


	18. Back to old habits

'Now, calm down, Majors. Explain to me what happened,' Henry said.  
  
'We walked in on Pierce and Dustin, together in the Supply tent,' Margaret said briskly.  
  
'Henry, I was doing a stock take,' Alex said desperately.  
  
'It was Kellye's turn to do a stock take of the supply tent,' Margaret countered.  
  
'We swapped! Henry, I swear, we weren't doing anything!' Alex exploded.  
  
'Henry, you can ask Radar. He came in and we weren't doing anything at all when he came in to give some letters to Alex,' Hawkeye said calmly.  
  
'What were you doing in there while the lieutenant was doing stock take?' Frank asked.  
  
'I needed to talk to her about something,' Hawkeye said, just as coolly as before.  
  
'What sort of something?' Henry asked. Hawkeye glanced at Alex. He didn't want Henry or Margaret to give her a huge speech about her problems with Andy.  
  
'I wasn't eating properly, and Hawkeye wanted to discuss that with me,' Alex said, shooting bitter looks at the Majors.  
  
'Frank, Margaret, were they even touching or hugging when you walked in?' Henry asked.  
  
'Why, I don't think so,' Margaret said, a little put off.  
  
'Anyway, what were you doing, going into the supply tent together?' Hawkeye asked, sitting back in his chair and grinning up at the two. Frank and Margaret were stunned for a second.  
  
'We're allowed to be in there if we want to be!' Frank said.  
  
'And so are they,' Henry said. 'And before you threaten to go to someone else about this, remember, you have no proof, and you two can be accused of doing the same thing.'  
  
'By who?' Frank asked scornfully.  
  
'Uh, me,' Alex offered.  
  
'And the rest of the camp,' Hawkeye muttered. Both Majors stormed out from Henry's office, and the door banged behind them.  
  
'Tell me the truth, were you doing anything?' Henry asked worriedly.  
  
'No,' Alex said firmly.  
  
'Just checking, because I hate it when those two are right after I've told them they're wrong,' Henry said, pouring himself a drink.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex stared at the food on the plate in front of her.  
  
'Do I have to eat it?' she whined.  
  
'We know it's disgusting, but you need to eat,' Trapper said firmly. Alex shot a meaningful glance at Hawkeye and looked at Klinger. Hawkeye understood immediately, and pulled Klinger from the table by his uninjured arm.  
  
'What?' Klinger asked a few metres away from the table.  
  
'Scram, you're making Alex nervous,' Hawkeye told him.  
  
'How so? I've never made her uncomfortable before,' Klinger said stubbornly. Hawkeye sighed.  
  
'She feels sick when she sees you with that busted up shoulder. She feels it's all her fault you were shot,' Hawkeye explained patiently. Klinger's face lit up with understanding.  
  
'Ok, I'll leave. But I'll miss the company at meal times,' he said before leaving the mess tent. Alex picked up a fork and push a little grey slush onto it with her knife. Looking up at Trapper and Hawkeye to see if they'd relent from making her eat it, (No such luck) Alex sighed and stuck it into her mouth. Coughing, she managed to swallow it.  
  
'Can I just take it a couple of mouthfuls a day?' she asked.  
  
'EAT!' Hawkeye and Trapper shouted at her.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
It was a few days later when Klinger walked into the mess tent and found Alex there. He sighed, and went to leave the tent, thinking he'd have to leave so Alex could eat in peace.  
  
'Klinger, come over here,' Alex yelled at him. Klinger looked up, and went over. 'Well, sit down,' Alex told him. Klinger sat.  
  
'What's up?' he asked.  
  
'Hawkeye told you why I couldn't eat, huh?' Alex asked.  
  
'Yeah,' Klinger admitted.  
  
'Well, I think I'm over all that now,' Alex told him. 'I can have lunch, breakfast and dinner with you again.' Klinger grinned.  
  
'Did I tell you about the new dress I got?' he asked excitedly. 


	19. Letters and the mistake

Alex was taking a quiet walk by herself. There was a cold wind blowing, and she stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket to keep them warm. Her finger's brushed on paper, and Alex pulled it out to see what it was. It was the letters Radar had brought to her while she was talking to Hawkeye in the supply tent. One was from the army, one from her mother and the third one was from the psychiatrist in Tokyo. Opening the one from her mother first, Alex put the other two under her arm and she began to read it to herself. She read about what the milkman had done to the stray cat after it had knocked the milk bottles out of his hand for the umpteenth time, how her younger sister was doing in school, and the fact that her mother had visited her father's grave a while ago. Alex sighed when she read this. Her father had died when she was only twelve, and she didn't get to know him as well as she would have liked. Alex shook her head to clear it of memories and continued reading. The last paragraph of the letter was ripped and the ink on it had run, but Alex tried to read it anyway.  
  
'It can't be that important, otherwise it wouldn't be at the bottom of the letter,' Alex told herself after giving up on trying to decipher it. She put the letter in her pocket and opened the one from the psychiatrist. She put that in her pocket after scanning it quickly, as it was just full of the usual 'You are doing very well,' blah, blah, blah. Alex stared at the letter with the army's seal on it, wondering what it was. Opening this one, she read the first few lines.  
  
IDear Miss Dustin,  
  
We are sorry to inform you that your brother was killed on the front line at. . ./I  
  
Alex's heart stopped. She read it over quickly, and sat down on a fallen log beside the road. Isaac couldn't be dead, he couldn't. Alex read the letter again. Her older brother had died at the hospital six days before. Their mother had already been contacted, and may mention it in her next letter. . . Alex quickly took her mother's letter from her pocket again, hands shaking.  
  
I . . .Isaac died a few days ago. I don't know if you know already but I was told he died in a MASH unit, I'm not sure which one. . . /I  
  
It was obvious to Alex now what the letter read. The young nurse put her head in her hands and began to sob her heart out.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'I'm a doctor. I shouldn't have to be getting things from the supply tent,' Frank was grumbling as he opened the door to the supply room. He went to the back, and was looking along the shelves, when he heard a sob. Turning around, he saw Alex, laying on the spare cot in the corner, crying. She looked up at him from where she lay, but didn't say anything.  
  
'What's the matter?' Frank asked, vaguely remembering when Alex had seemed so understanding towards him when he got a letter from home.  
  
'My brother . . . he's dead,' Alex said, hiccuping quietly. Frank was a little shocked. He never knew Alex had a brother, and he never knew Alex could cry quiet like she was crying now.  
  
'How'd it happen?' Frank asked, sitting beside her. Alex sat up. Her psychiatrist was always telling her it was good to talk, it might as well be Frank.  
  
'Fighting, up the front. Died in the hospital,' Alex said through her tears. She collapsed onto Frank with a new wave of tears, and Frank put her arms around her awkwardly. Suddenly, Klinger burst in, looking for something he had put into the supply room two weeks ago. He sort of gasped, and Alex pulled away from Frank to see who it was.  
  
'Alex, I thought you and Hawkeye. . . you said you hated. . . Alex!' Klinger yelled, and he stormed out.  
  
'What's his problem?' Frank asked conceitedly.  
  
'He thought we were. . . oh god,' Alex said, getting up and running out after Klinger.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
At dinner that night, Alex found Klinger, and she sat beside him. Klinger went to get up, but Alex pulled him down again.  
  
'Before, in the supply room, it's not what you think,' Alex told him.  
  
'Oh? Then what was it?' Klinger sounded very hurt.  
  
'I . . .' Alex swallowed as she tried not to think about Isaac.  
  
'Like I thought,' Klinger replied before getting up and leaving the mess tent. Alex sat there and stared ahead, trying not to cry at the unfairness of it all.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'We've had word from HQ that the enemy will be bombing targets in this area, and he wants people to start digging fox holes,' Radar told Hawkeye, Trapper and Alex.  
  
'We don't have a thing to worry about if it's Five o'clock Charlie,' Hawkeye said, taking a sip from his martini glass.  
  
'Five o'clock Charlie?' Alex asked.  
  
'He's a North Korean pilot. Couldn't hit the roof of the White house if he were flying a metre above the roof,' Trapper explained. Alex grinned.  
  
'Great,' she said, leaning back in her chair a little.  
  
'Uh, the fox holes?' Radar asked.  
  
'Don't worry, Radar, we'll be out to help later,' Hawkeye told him. Radar nodded and left.  
  
'Tell Major Burns when you see him,' Radar said through the fine mesh wall of the Swamp.  
  
'Can do,' Hawkeye replied.  
  
'Frank will be drilling us at all hours of the day if he finds out,' Trapper complained.  
  
'Frank is very GI. He expects us to take these sorts of things seriously when they're not happening yet,' Hawkeye explained when Alex gave them a questioning look.  
  
'Oh, come on, he can't be that bad,' Alex said, remembering how he comforted her while she was upset. Trapper and Hawkeye laughed.  
  
'Hey, Hawk, she's serious,' Trapper said when he notice Alex wasn't laughing with them.  
  
'Alex, Frank is worse than he is now when we're expecting something like this,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'I'm just saying, I can't see him doing something stupid like that,' Alex said.  
  
'Klinger was right, you two do have a thing going on!' Trapped said gleefully.  
  
'What? No, it's not like that! I was upset about something. . .' Alex tried to explain.  
  
'Yeah, and you went to Frankie,' Trapper said.  
  
'Did he kiss you and make it all better?' Hawkeye asked in a babyish voice.  
  
'Look, nothing happened. How could you think I'd do something with him like that?' Alex asked, getting distressed.  
  
'We're just kidding you. We know you well enough to know there is no way you'd do something like that with Frank,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Klinger doesn't think so,' Alex muttered.  
  
'He was there. It's one of those things that you've got to see it to believe it, and we weren't there,' Trapper said.  
  
'I can't even get him to talk to me any more,' Alex said, swallowing the last of the gin in her glass.  
  
'He'll get over it, once he realises you and Frank aren't compatible,' Hawkeye comforted her. 


	20. To the fox holes

Alex was looking at the notice board along with all of the other nurses who just got off their Pre-op shifts, and Frank, who'd been operating on a wound that went sour. A couple of planes flew over head, and Alex looked up. They were very low and something was dropping from them.  
  
'BOMB!' she yelled.  
  
'Get to the fox holes!' Frank ordered, and everyone around her started running. Alex ran after them. She overtook Frank Burns and fell thirty seconds later when the bombs hit the ground. A few of the tents fell, and all Alex could do was watch. Suddenly, she realised she couldn't see Frank any more. She called over to a few nurses, who were crouching beside a jeep.  
  
'Did you see where Major Burns went?' she asked.  
  
'He went into that building before it collapsed,' one replied, pointing.  
  
'Go find somewhere safer to hide. And if you see Radar, ask him if he could please ring up HQ to tell them we're under fire now,' Alex instructed. A few of them nodded, and ran off in the direction Alex was running before. Alex ran over to the debris and tried to lift something without luck. She looked around the compound, trying to look for help. Everyone seemed to have disappeared.  
  
'Typical,' she muttered. 'We've been warned of the enemy dropping bombs about a million times, but we're caught off guard this one time.' The door of Klinger's tent moved, and Alex ran towards it. Inside was Klinger, grabbing his survival pack of food, water and dresses.  
  
'Shouldn't you be in the fox holes?' Klinger asked her.  
  
'Major Burns is stuck under a tent. It fell down in the bombing, and we need to get him out before they drop more bombs,' Alex said a few seconds before the whole tent shuddered slightly from the next bomb a plane had dropped.  
  
'What do you want me to do about it?' Klinger asked. Alex stared into his dark eyes and was a little scared at how cold they looked. She knew Klinger and Frank were complete opposites and anything but friends, but she felt this went a little deeper than that.  
  
'Klinger, this is a man's life we're talking about! Can't you just put behind you what you thought you saw?' she asked. Klinger swung his survival bag onto his back. 'Please, Klinger!' Alex pleaded as he went out the door. The door was about to swing shut behind him when the next bomb landed in the compound, and the whole camp shook. Alex screamed, and suddenly, Klinger was there, throwing her to the ground and protecting her with his body. The dust settled and the two got up.  
  
'Are you ok?' Klinger asked Alex as they checked themselves over.  
  
'A few scratches, not much. I'll be fine. Are you alright?' Alex replied. Klinger nodded. 'Will you please help me get Frank out from under the tent?' Alex asked him. Klinger nodded again.  
  
'I'll help get him out, but I'm not carrying him to the fox holes if he's hurt, or dead,' Klinger said. Alex swallowed hard. She never thought he could be dead.  
  
'Come on, we'd better go get Ferret Face out from there,' she said, and they left the tent quickly. Together, they lifted a few pieces of timber and threw them aside. 'Major? Can you hear us?' Alex yelled. There was no reply, but the two continued to drag the scraps away. Eventually, Klinger found him.  
  
'It's either him, or a shoe someone left in there,' Klinger said, pointing. They moved some more of the wreckage away, and found Frank, laying in the dust, unconscious. Alex dragged him out carefully, and checked him over, bombs falling still, but a little further away.  
  
'Nothing major, just a little concussion, I think,' she said. She tried lifting him up and dragging him, but only got a few metres away before she had to put him down again. 'He's such an awkward shape,' she complained. Klinger bent down and pick up the Major's feet. 'Thought you weren't helping?' Alex asked him.  
  
'Only if you solemnly swear there is nothing going on between you two,' Klinger said.  
  
'I swear on my brother's grave,' Alex grunted. Klinger almost dropped Frank's feet. Alex looked up. 'I got word a few days ago that he'd been killed on the front, a few miles towards Seoul,' she explained. A tear ran down Alex's face, but she wiped it away quickly before taking the letter she received from the army out from her pocket. She handed it to Klinger and he read it quickly.  
  
'I'm sorry,' Klinger said.  
  
'Frank found me in the supply room, crying, and he was comforting me when you walked in,' Alex continued, as if Klinger hadn't apologized.  
  
'So you weren't. . .' Klinger began to ask. Alex shook her head.  
  
'We need to get out of here,' she said, looking up as another plane flew over. They carried Frank towards the fox holes that the 4077 had prepared before, and threw him down into hole on top of Margaret. The head nurse began to scream.  
  
'It's ok, Major, he's still alive,' Klinger said, jumping in beside her. Alex climbed in carefully, and with Margaret's and Klinger's help, moved him into a safer position. Alex didn't blame Margaret for screaming, Frank looked horrible with his face all bloodied up and bruises starting to come up.  
  
'We had to dig him out from under a tent after it fell on him, just after the first bombs,' Alex explained as the ground shuddered and dust swirled around them.  
  
'You risked your life to save Frank?' Margaret asked.  
  
'It's this annoying habit she has,' Hawkeye said, squeezing along the narrow trench. Trapper, Henry and Radar were following him.  
  
'I didn't do anything. She made me feel guilty, and made me help,' Klinger said.  
  
'Frank mightn't have done the same for me, we all know what a yellow bellied coward he is, but I couldn't just leave him there,' Alex said. A bomb landed very close to the fox hole, and everyone ducked.  
  
'Radar, have you gotten through to head quarters yet?' Henry asked. Radar had the small phone box hanging from him, and he was tapping the little button on it quickly.  
  
'Not yet, sir,' Radar replied. The group huddled together in the fox hole, and waited, the only sounds were the bombs exploding and Radar tapping the button on the phone for all he was worth.  
  
'There probably isn't much we can do except wait, anyway,' Trapper said.  
  
'Everyone get their survival packs?' Henry asked.  
  
'I didn't. I was too worried about getting Frank back,' Alex said.  
  
'You can share with us,' Hawkeye said. He was sitting between her and Trapper, and he pulled out a flask. Alex took it gratefully, and took a mouthful from it, savouring the gin that Hawkeye had taken from the Still earlier. She gave it back to him, and Hawkeye and Trapper each took a swig each before putting it away. Suddenly realizing how tired she was, Alex put her head on Hawkeye's shoulder, and somehow, with all of the bombs going off every three seconds, fell asleep. 


	21. A bottle of Booze

Someone was poking Alex awake.  
  
'What?' she asked blearily. 'Have they finished bombing or are we dead?'  
  
'They've finished bombing,' Henry said. Alex opened her eyes and yawned.  
  
'You ok? You're the only person who was able to sleep through that,' Klinger said.  
  
'How long was I asleep?' Alex asked.  
  
'Oh, I dunno, eight, maybe nine hours,' Trapper said. The bombing had indeed stopped, and Frank and Margaret had gone already.  
  
'So, did Frank wake up or is he in a coma, or what?' Alex asked.  
  
'He woke up, about an hour before. Couldn't remember a thing. Wondered why he was in here,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Did he remember the building falling on him?' Alex asked curiously.  
  
'Nope,' Klinger replied.  
  
'Come on, we need a drink,' Trapper said. He helped Alex up, and Hawkeye and Trapper led Alex to the Swamp.  
  
'Did it survive the bombing?' Alex asked.  
  
'A few things seemed to have come loose, but we can tighten them and be drinking martini's in five minutes,' Hawkeye replied, checking the Still over.  
  
'We see Klinger is talking to you again,' Trapper said, sitting on his cot.  
  
'What? Oh, yeah, He listened to me when I tried to explain it this time,' Alex replied. 'So, what exciting things happened while I was sleeping?' she asked.  
  
'Let's see, bombs were dropped, Five o'clock Charlie even came past. Not a lot, actually,' Hawkeye said, tweaking something on the Still. 'I think that'll do it.' He flicked on of the pipes to get it working, but nothing happened.  
  
'Hell, let's just go to Henry's liqueur cabinet,' Trapper said, standing up again. Alex stood up as well.  
  
'Good idea. I'll join you guys there in a few minutes,' she said. 'Don't start without me.' With that, she left the Swamp and headed towards the nurse's tent.  
  
'Come on,' Hawkeye said and the two doctors started heading towards Henry's office. Henry was there, and he sighed when he saw Hawkeye and Trapper.  
  
'Let me guess, the Still in on the blink,' he said, pulling out a couple of glasses.  
  
'Right first time Henry,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Get one out for Alex as well, she's coming too,' Trapper said. Henry was just unlocking the cabinet when Alex came in. She was holding a bottle of wine, bought in Tokyo.  
  
'I was afraid the bombs might have shattered it,' she said, taking the top off and pouring a little into each of the glasses. 'I've been waiting for a good time to use it. I thought now was as good a time as any.' They lifted their glasses in a silent toast, and drank.  
  
'Good stuff,' Hawkeye commented.  
  
'Not nearly as good as the Still,' Alex replied. After they had finished off about a third of the bottle, Alex put the cork back into the top.  
  
There are a few other people I'd like to share it with,' she explained before leaving Henry's office.  
  
'Hey, Hawk,' Trapper said from his chair, moving his glass in his hand. 'Did we ever find out what Frank was comforting Alex about?' Hawkeye thought for a minute.  
  
'No, we didn't,' he said eventually. Henry gave them both a quizzical look.  
  
'Klinger caught Alex and Frank in the supply room. Alex says Frank was comforting her about something,' Trapper explained to the Colonel.  
  
'Oh. And she hasn't told anyone what it was about? Well, that does seem a bit fishy,' Henry said. Hawkeye and Trapper looked at each other.  
  
'It does, actually,' Hawkeye said. 


	22. Suspicions

Alex found Frank laying on a cot in Pre op.  
  
'What do you want?' he asked. A nurse a few cots away looked over sharply.  
  
'She saved your life, you ungrateful slob,' she snapped before walking away.  
  
'I'd like to thank you for listening to what I had to say in the supply room, and being there. I'd appreciate you didn't tell anyone about my brother, though,' Alex said, producing the bottle and a glass. She poured some of the liquid from the bottle into the glass and handed it to Frank. Before leaving, Alex saluted and left. Frank stared at the glass. This was the first time someone had given him a gift for doing something. He put the glass on the small table beside him and stared up at the roof of the tent. Hawkeye and Trapper came in about ten minutes later.  
  
'Hi Frank,' Hawkeye said before sitting on the cot beside him.  
  
'We'd like to ask you a couple of questions about Alex,' Trapper said, standing beside his friend.  
  
'Like what? You know more about her than me,' Frank said.  
  
'What were you comforting her about when Klinger burst in on you?' Hawkeye asked, staring at Frank hard.  
  
'Wouldn't you like to know!' Frank said, remembering Alex's request to not tell anyone of her brother's passing. Trapper and Hawkeye glanced at each other.  
  
'Come on, we won't get anything out of him,' Hawkeye said, standing and the two left.  
  
'We'll try Klinger,' Trapper said as they walked out the door.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex had found Klinger in his tent, straightening things up.  
  
'Hi,' she said.  
  
'Hi, Alex. What do you want?' Klinger asked friendly.  
  
'I wanted to share some of this with you,' Alex said, handing the bottle of gin to Klinger. 'Got any glasses?' Klinger went to a cupboard and pulled out two cups.  
  
'The rest seem to be all broken,' Klinger said, going over to Alex. She filled them up, and lifted her glass up in a toast.  
  
'To Isaac, may you rest in peace,' she said before drinking.  
  
'To your brother,' Klinger added before taking a mouthful from his own cup.  
  
'I'd like you to keep my brother's death under you hat,' Alex said, looking up from her drink.  
  
'Oh, yeah, ok,' Klinger said. Silence. 'Were you very close?' he asked her.  
  
'Closer than close. Isaac was only two years older than me, and very understanding. He was drafted into the army, and injured a few times. When people came around to the hospital I was working in to get volunteers for the war, I signed up, so I could see him, and be reasonably close to him,' Alex explained. She stared into her glass, and Klinger moved around, feeling a little awkward.  
  
'Are you ok about it?' he asked.  
  
'I don't know. I can go through the day without crying if I think about him, now, but I think it'll always hurt, deep inside,' Alex said. She put her glass down and handed Klinger what was left in the bottle.  
  
'Please don't tell anyone, I don't want to be fussed over about it,' she said before leaving.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Hawkeye and Trapper came into Klinger's tent a few minutes after Alex left.  
  
'Klinger, we want to know what the excuse was that Alex gave you after you found her and Frank together in the supply room,' Trapper said.  
  
'He was comforting her,' Klinger said.  
  
'Yeah, but what about?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Why do you want to know?' Klinger asked innocently.  
  
'We think it's weird that she hasn't told anyone about it. She'd come to me or Hawk before going to Frank,' Trapper said.  
  
'You need to have a little faith in her,' Klinger said.  
  
'Do you have proof that he was really comforting her, not doing anything else?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Just her word,' Klinger replied. Hawkeye and Trapper looked at each other.  
  
'I don't like this,' Trapper said. Hawkeye nodded in agreement and they left. 


	23. Rumours

Alex was in the mess tent, looking at the food on her tray.  
  
'I hope you're not thinking about not eating,' Trapper said, sitting opposite her.  
  
'If I was, I'd know you'd trick me into eating like last time, and there wouldn't be much point,' Alex replied as Hawkeye sat down beside her.  
  
'What was Frank comforting you about in the supply tent a while back?' Hawkeye asked. Alex's cheeks turned a little red.  
  
'None of your business,' she said, not looking at either of them.  
  
'We've asked Frank and Klinger, neither of them would tell us,' Trapper said, trying to catch her eye.  
  
'Good, I asked them not to tell anyone,' Alex said, looking up.  
  
'We find it very suspicious that you won't tell anyone what it was about, when you want to prove you and Frank don't have a thing going on,' Hawkeye said. Alex turned to stare him in the eyes. Her green ones locked onto his blue eyes and Hawkeye noticed they weren't as soft as they usually were.  
  
'It's my business, and I'll tell whoever I want to know about it. You are not one of them.' Alex turned to Trapper. 'And neither are you. Now leave it alone, or let me eat in peace.' Hawkeye sighed and gave Trapper a look.  
  
'Ok, we'll let it lie,' he said.  
  
'I'm sure you won't,' Alex said, eating calmly. Trapper and Hawkeye got up to leave, but then noticed Margaret leaving her tent.  
  
'Let's get Hotlips in on all of this. I'm sure she'd like to know what it was about as well,' Hawkeye said to Trapper.  
  
'But she doesn't know Alex and Frank were together in the supply room,' Trapper said, a confused look on his face.  
  
'Not yet, she doesn't,' Hawkeye replied, and Trapper grinned when he realised what he meant.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'They were WHAT?' Margaret yelled.  
  
'I knew you'd be upset. Alex insists nothing happened, and we can't get anything out of Frank or Klinger, so we thought we'd give you a try at Frank. He'd tell you anything,' Hawkeye said, sipping a martini.  
  
'Why. . . how dare they. . . I'll have her shipped out to a different unit!' Margaret was pacing the Swamp.  
  
'Not yet. We want to know if Alex is telling the truth first. We want to know what Frank was comforting her about, if anything at all,' Trapper said.  
  
'You can bet I'll be finding out!' Margaret said before storming out.  
  
'And now, we wait,' Hawkeye said, lifting his glass a little.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'What's the matter, cupcake?' Frank asked when Margaret pushed him away after he tried to give her a hug.  
  
'Pierce and McIntyre say you were with lieutenant Dustin a few weeks ago,' Margaret said sourly.  
  
'That? That was nothing!' Frank gave a nervous laugh.  
  
'They told me that the lieutenant claimed you were giving her consolation about something,' Margaret continued. 'For me to believe the lieutenant's story, I want to know why you were giving her your sympathy.'  
  
'Margaret, I promised I wouldn't tell,' Frank said, moving around to face Margaret in the eye.  
  
'Tell me, or I will be ringing your wife to let her know about what's been going on between you,' Margaret insisted. Frank looked around nervously to make sure no-one was standing in Margaret's tiny tent.  
  
'You can't tell anyone, I swore I wouldn't tell!' he said in a high pitched voice.  
  
'Frank!' Margaret said warningly. Frank sighed. There was no escaping it.  
  
'She had just got word from another MASH unit that her brother had died,' he said quietly. Margaret looked stunned.  
  
'And out of all the people in camp, she told you?' she asked, as if she couldn't believe it.  
  
'It was a case of me finding her first,' Frank explained. Margaret sat down on her cot.  
  
'The poor girl,' she said to herself.  
  
'You can't tell anyone!' Frank said frantically. Margaret nodded, thinking about Alex and not fully listening to Frank.  
  
'Uh, Frank, why don't we hold our date until tomorrow?' she asked, realizing he was still there. 'I have a lot to think about.' Frank looked a little put down, but nodded dejectedly before leaving. Margaret waited a minute after he left before pulling her army boots on and heading towards the nurse's tent.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex was laughing at a joke when Margaret knocked on the nurse's door.  
  
One of the other's answered it, and Alex heard Margaret ask 'Is lieutenant Dustin there?'  
  
'Can I help you, Major?' Alex asked pleasantly.  
  
'I'd like to talk to you privately, lieutenant,' Margaret told her.  
  
'I'll be with you in a moment,' Alex said, going back inside and pulling a light purple dressing robe on and her boots without doing up the laces. She wrapped it around herself more tightly when she stepped into the howling wind outside.  
  
'What is it?' she asked Margaret.  
  
'Alex, I heard. . . I heard you lost someone close to you, a week or so back,' Margaret began. Alex stared at Margaret curiously.  
  
'Go on,' she urged.  
  
'Frank told me he gave you solace when you found out your brother died,' Margaret continued.  
  
'I asked him not to tell! I'll kill him. . .' Alex started angrily, but Margaret stopped her.  
  
'He only told me because I threatened to tell his wife that he was having an affair with you if he didn't tell me. Before he told me, all I knew was that Klinger walked in on you and Frank together in the supply room,' Margaret explained. Alex looked at her superior officer, her head tilted to the side.  
  
'Who told you about that? Not many people know, because when Klinger accused me and Frank. . . well, being together, he only told Hawkeye and Trapper, and they believed me when I told them it was nothing,' Alex said. Margaret looked a little embarrassed.  
  
'They were the one's who told me you and Frank were having an affair,' Margaret admitted. Alex sighed, obviously annoyed.  
  
'They're going to tell the whole camp Frank has dumped you for me unless I tell them why Frank and I were hugging in the supply room,' Alex said. 'Thank you for telling me, Margaret.'  
  
'I'm sorry about your brother,' Margaret said. Alex sighed again, a low, unhappy sigh.  
  
'It doesn't matter. He died, and there isn't much I can do about it,' Alex said, a tear dribbling down her cheek. Without another word, Alex stormed off towards the Swamp. 


	24. Hawkeye and Trapper learn the truth

'Hello, Alex. Didn't think you were coming in tonight,' Hawkeye said. Frank looked up from reading his bible and saw the dark look on her face before throwing the blanket over his head in fright.  
  
'Someone told Margaret that Frank and I had a thing going,' she said, staring at the two men with martini glasses in their hands. Hawkeye and Trapper grinned.  
  
'We'd like to see you prove it was us,' Trapper said.  
  
'Margaret told me it was you two who told her. And she told me she'd back me up when I pressed charges for spreading rumours,' Alex told them, adding the lie on an impulse. Hawkeye and Trapper glanced at each other nervously.  
  
'Uh, I'll be leaving now,' Frank squeaked before running out the door of the Swamp.  
  
'I'm going to assume that you'll tell everyone in camp that Frank and I are together unless I tell you why we were in their together,' Alex said, sitting down. 'If you must know, my brother died.' Hawkeye and Trapper looked at her, stunned.  
  
'Alex. . . I. . . we're sorry,' Hawkeye stuttered. Alex smiled inwardly. Hawkeye with a loss for words. That wasn't something you saw every day.  
  
'I went to the supply tent to hide from the world, and to let all my feelings out. Frank came in, and I told him what happened, because I've been told it's good to talk to someone about the bad things in life. Klinger walked in, accused us of being in there together to make out, and told you in disgust. I told him about my brother, and he realised how stupid he'd been to make an assumption like that. I made both men promise not to tell a sole, and you go to Margaret, suspicious of something that never happened, so she'd get the information no-one else would tell you. When Frank told her the truth, she came and found me, and told me what you two were up to,' Alex said. When she finished her speech, she took the martini from Hawkeye's hand and swallowed the lot before putting it back into his hand.  
  
'Alex, we. . .' Trapper began, but stopped.  
  
'What he's saying is, we're sorry we gave you so much trouble,' Hawkeye said, over his shock.  
  
'It's ok. Next time, can't you just trust me? I've told you my feelings about Frank. Nothing like that could happen between us,' Alex said.  
  
'Do you miss your brother?' Trapper asked quietly. A tear slid down Alex's face.  
  
'Like you wouldn't believe,' she replied, more tears falling.  
  
'Can't you get a section DA7? A hardship discharge?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'They didn't give me one when Andy died, why would they give me one now? You know what the army is like, hopeless,' Alex said. 'Now, before I leave, don't tell anyone, I don't want everyone feeling sorry for me, but tell whoever you've told I was going out with Frank. Tell them not to tell anyone,' she said, before leaving. Hawkeye and Trapper looked at each other.  
  
'We've been so stupid!' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Did you have any idea about her brother?' Trapper asked. Hawkeye shook his head and both of them stared at the wall of the tent, lost in their own thoughts. 


	25. Stars and Stripes and Discharges

'Did you see this?' Henry asked Hawkeye and Trapper, throwing an old Stripes and Stars newspaper onto his desk. Trapper picked it up, and Hawkeye looked over his shoulder. It was opened to page sixteen, and there was a small article about how one of the MASH units had been over taken by the enemy, but luckily for the captured nurses and doctors, troops came in to claim the camp back. One of the six small photo's was of a nurse, supporting a black eye, and a long bloody cut on her left cheek, blood dribbling onto her chin. Her face was streaked with tears and dirt, and she had a blood stained shirt on.  
  
'Hey, that's Alex,' Trapper said, swallowing hard when he saw how beaten up she looked.  
  
'Did either of you two know she was part of the unit that was attacked?' Henry asked them.  
  
'Yeah, we did,' Hawkeye said, taking the paper from Trapper and reading the blurb under the photo.  
  
ILutienant Dustin escapes with her life after a doctor was killed./I  
  
'Why didn't anyone tell me she was in the unit that was attacked?' Henry asked.  
  
'Alex doesn't like people making a fuss over her. It's why she didn't tell anyone about her brother,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Brother?' Henry asked.  
  
'Alex's brother died up at the front and that's what Frank was comforting her about. She doesn't want anyone to know,' Trapper explained. Henry sat down at his desk.  
  
'I wish people would tell me these things!' he said angrily, staring at the paper Hawkeye just put back onto the table. 'She could have been shipped home by now. Stars and Stripes says everyone in that MASH unit were sent home.'  
  
'She wasn't,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'I know that, otherwise she wouldn't be here!' Henry snapped. 'RADAR!' he yelled as Radar came in the office.  
  
'I've sent for Alex,' Radar said.  
  
'Good, but I wish you'd let me give the order before you do it,' Henry said in a tired voice.  
  
'She lied!' Trapper hissed to Hawkeye. 'She lied to us when she said she wasn't offered a discharge!'  
  
'There'll be a good reason for it,' Hawkeye whispered back. Alex came into Henry's office a minute later, followed by Klinger who was wearing a new, very frilly, dress.  
  
'What's up, Henry?' Alex asked cheerfully. Then she noticed the paper on the desk, still opened to page sixteen. Her smile fell from her face, and she stared at her army boots. Klinger picked up the paper and whistled loudly when he saw the picture of her.  
  
'That says everyone from that unit was sent home, back to the states, or from wherever else they came from,' Henry said in a dangerously low voice.  
  
'I insisted on staying in Korea,' Alex replied, refusing to look at anyone.  
  
'Why?' Henry asked.  
  
'I didn't want to leave my brother here by himself,' Alex said, snatching the paper from Klinger, who was reading the article in it and scrunching it up in one hand. Henry stopped and looked at the nurse. The scar seemed to stand out more noticeably to him after seeing what it looked like with blood pouring from it, and Alex still seemed determined, even though she had her eyes to the floor.  
  
'Do you still want to stay in Korea?' he asked.  
  
'What?' Alex asked, looking up quickly.  
  
'Do you want to stay here in Korea, or go back home?' Henry asked.  
  
'You can't just send me back like that, can you?' Alex asked.  
  
'These two,' Henry paused to jab a thumb in Hawkeye and Trapper's direction, 'told me about your brother. You could go home on a section DA7.' Klinger put his hands on Alex's shoulders and whirled her around to face him.  
  
'You get to go home! Alex, you get to go home!' Klinger shouted happily. Radar walked in with the forms to send Alex home. Henry filled them out quickly and signed them before handing them to Alex. She stared at them for a moment, and looked around the room. Henry was regarding her quietly, Radar watching her, and glancing at the paper now on the floor every few seconds, Hawkeye and Trapper were smiling at her from the side of the room, and Klinger had a look of delight on his face. Alex sighed before ripping the paper's in half. There were a few gasps around the room as Alex put the ripped up forms on Henry's desk.  
  
'Alex, what are you doing?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'I can't go home, knowing the people over here, risking their lives every day. I'll go home when everyone else gets to go home,' Alex said. With that, she left Henry's office.  
  
'She could have gone home,' Klinger said quietly.  
  
'First Klinger, who desperately wants out of the army, and now Alex, who wants to stay in the army,' Henry sighed.  
  
'She didn't really just do that, did she? This is all just some wacko dream, right?' Hawkeye asked Trapper.  
  
'Don't ask me,' Trapper replied, staring at the ripped up DA7 form on Henry's desk. 


	26. Was it stupid of me?

Klinger had the Stars and Stripes newspaper with him when Alex came into the mess tent later that day. She sighed when she saw it again.  
  
'I suppose I owe you an explanation,' she said.  
  
'The newspaper pretty much covers it,' Klinger replied quickly.  
  
'I bet it doesn't describe how the enemy treated us,' Alex said, opening up the paper and looking at the picture of herself inside. Her hand moved up to her cheek and she traced the long scar running down it. 'I look really bad there, don't I?'  
  
'What did they do to you?' Klinger asked.  
  
'I was beaten up after I shot their leader. He was killing some of the people in camp for the fun of it, and I tired to stop him. He cut my cheek, told me I'd be next if I didn't shut up. I got angry, took a shot gun from one of the bodies, and shot him. The others were going to kill me, if it wasn't for a doctor there. He held them off long enough before some of our own troops came in and stopped them. But the doctor was killed,' Alex said, missing the fact that she was good friends with the doctor who'd saved her.  
  
'And when they told you that you could go home, you told them you didn't want to go back?' Klinger asked in awe. Alex nodded.  
  
'My brother was there, and I wasn't going to leave him in Korea for anyone,' she said.  
  
'You must think I'm a coward or something for trying to get out,' Klinger said, looking a little ashamed.  
  
'No, you told me you wanted out because you respected life. And I admire you for following through with what you believe in,' Alex said. Klinger perked up a little.  
  
'Why'd you rip up the DA7 forms?' he asked her.  
  
'I don't want to leave you guys here, in the war,' Alex replied.  
  
'Alex, that's nice of you and all, but think about it. Home. Don't you want to get back in one piece?' Klinger asked. Alex was quiet. 'Alex?'  
  
'Yeah, I know,' she replied eventually. 'I'd love to go home, but not while the war is on.' Alex sighed and looked at the newspaper again. 'You don't know how hard it was to rip up those papers,' she said. She got up without eating anything from her tray and put it in the rubbish.  
  
'Alex,' Klinger said. Alex turned and smiled at Klinger.  
  
'I know, no more missing meals. I promise I'll eat properly, but for now, I'm not hungry. Don't tell anyone, and I will eat a lot at breakfast,' she said.  
  
'You miss breakfast and I'm going straight to Colonel Blake,' Klinger warned. Alex smiled again and nodded before heading out towards the Swamp, Stars and Stripes in one hand.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Hey, Alex. Pour you a drink?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'Yeah, alright,' Alex replied shrugging. She sat down and took the glass offered to her. 'Do you think it was stupid of me to rip up that discharge?' she asked after a little while.  
  
'Incredibly,' Trapper agreed.  
  
'Henry said if you change your mind, he can write you a new one,' Hawkeye said. Alex shook her head.  
  
'I'd miss you guys too much to do that,' she joked. Trapper took the newspaper from her hand and flipped to page sixteen.  
  
'They really didn't treat you well, did they?' he asked.  
  
'No,' Alex said, a tear escaping and running down her scar.  
  
'We didn't realise how badly until we saw this,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Well, you do now,' the nurse replied. 'Not nearly as bad as how I felt about Andy afterwards, though.' The three talked and drank martini's into the night, steering clear of the war for once. Alex glanced at her watch.  
  
'It's three in the morning,' she said. Hawkeye looked over towards Frank's cot.  
  
'Frank must be spending the night with Hotlips,' he said.  
  
'I'm going to disturb a whole heap of nurses if I got back to the nurse's tent,' Alex said.  
  
'They'll get over it,' Trapper said.  
  
'I might stay I the supply room,' Alex said, getting up.  
  
'You could stay in the spare cot, if you really wanted,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'No, that's ok, 'Alex said, and she went off, disappearing almost instantly into the inky blackness around the camp. Suddenly, there was a gun pointing at her nose.  
  
'Friend or foe?' someone demanded.  
  
'Whoa, don't point that thing at me, Klinger!' Alex exclaimed. The gun was lowered.  
  
'Sorry, Alex,' Klinger said sheepishly. Alex shivered. The nights were getting cold in Korea.  
  
'It's my fault. Didn't keep a close enough eye on the time while in the Swamp,' Alex replied.  
  
'You look cold, you should go to bed,' Klinger told her.  
  
'I'm sleeping in the supply room tonight. Don't want to disturb anyone in the nurse's tent,' Alex said.  
  
'Be careful. I think Major Burns and Houlihan are in there,' Klinger said.  
  
'Rats. I don't want to have to sleep in the showers or anything,' Alex said.  
  
'You can have my tent,' Klinger said graciously. 'I've got guard duty all night.'  
  
'Aw, Klinger, I couldn't stay there!' Alex said.  
  
'Well, there isn't anywhere else for you to sleep without waking anyone up,' Klinger said. Alex thought about this for a second, and nodded thoughtfully.  
  
'Yes, but I don't want any more misunderstandings. I had enough trouble when I was in the supply tent with Frank,' she said. 'I might just sleep in Post op.' Alex slid off into the night. Alex went into the post op tent and thankfully found it almost empty. She slipped under the blanket's of one of the cots, and fell asleep. 


	27. Found and Lost

Alex was being shaken awake.  
  
'Alex? Are you ok? What happened? Why are you sleeping in here? Are you hurt?' Margaret was firing hundreds of questions at her disoriented nurse.  
  
'Huh? Margaret, calm down. I stayed a little too long in the Swamp last night, and I didn't want to disturb any of the nurse's, so I chose to come sleep in here. I'm not injured,' Alex explained, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Margaret stood back and let out a grateful breath.  
  
'You had me worried,' Margaret told Alex.  
  
'Sorry,' Alex said. She got up and went to the mess tent. Klinger was waiting there already, looking tired.  
  
'You promised me you wouldn't miss this meal,' he said, pushing an almost overflowing tray towards her. Alex groaned, but she laughed when she did so. She began to eat the fried eggs on her plate (At least, she hoped they were fried eggs) and looked up at Klinger.  
  
'Having much luck with your section eight?' she asked.  
  
'Well, no, but next time a general comes, I have this great dress that'll make his hat spin!' Klinger exclaimed. Alex laughed as Hawkeye and Trapper came in.  
  
'Hey Alex, coming in for a drink tonight?' Trapper asked.  
  
'No, I thought I might give myself a chance to sober up,' Alex replied.  
  
'Sober? What's sober?' Hawkeye asked Trapper. Alex laughed and turned back to her breakfast.  
  
'Good to see you're eating properly,' Trapper called as they went to get their own trays of food. Alex glanced up at Klinger and the two smiled at their secret.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Henry was on R and R. Frank was in charge, and ordering people around as if they were a major part to the winning of the war. Klinger's dresses, Hawkeye's and Trapper's Still and anything else "un-military" had been taken away from camp. Alex hadn't seen the morale in camp down so low before.  
  
'It picks up once Henry gets back,' Hawkeye told her while they were in the supply room.  
  
'He'd better be back soon, I don't think I can take much more of marching all day,' Alex replied. She glanced at her watch and groaned.  
  
'What?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'I have Post op in about half an hour and I haven't had dinner yet,' Alex said, standing up. 'I'll see you later, Hawkeye.'  
  
'Yeah, see you Alex,' Hawkeye replied, watching her leave the tent. Before she left, Alex took the coat hanger off the door and put it on a shelf. In the mess tent, a few minutes later, she sat down opposite Klinger with a half filled tray.  
  
'Sorry I can't stay long tonight. I have post op,' Alex explained, scooping a heap onto her fork and eating it.  
  
'It's ok,' Klinger said, looking strange in army greens. Radar came up to the table, looking nervous.  
  
'Er, lieutenant? I've found it,' he whispered. Alex looked up quickly.  
  
'Are you sure? It's not a false alarm like last week?' she asked. Klinger was staring at the two, trying to figure out what they were talking about.  
  
'No, it's definitely it,' Radar said, glancing around the mess tent. Alex got up after shoving a few more mouthfuls into her mouth and went to leave.  
  
'Sorry, Klinger, this is really important. See you tomorrow,' she called over her shoulder as she and Radar ran out the tent. Knowing how much trouble he'd caused by assuming something the last time, Klinger dismissed Alex running out of the tent as if her life depended on it and continued eating. She'd tell him what was going on when she wanted to.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Wait, Radar, stop,' Alex skidded to a halt outside post op. 'I have duty. Just wait here, and I'll be out in a sec.' Alex ducked into the building and found a nurse sitting at a desk at the very end.  
  
'Oh, Alex, I wasn't expecting you to relieve me for a while,' she said.  
  
'I have something really, really important to do. Can I please ask you to do my duty tonight and I'll pay you back later, somehow,' Alex said. The other nurse thought for a second.  
  
'Alright, but don't you dare forget,' she said as Alex bolted out the door again. She and Radar went to Radar's office and Radar gave Alex lolly paper.  
  
'It was the only paper I could find,' Radar explained when Alex gave him a questioning look. She held it up with a slightly shaking hand and read the message on it. Her face broke out in a huge smile and she looked at Radar.  
  
'Thanks, Radar, I knew I could count on you to get this for me. You didn't tell anyone?'  
  
'No, not a soul. Oh, except Sparky, he's the one who really found it,' Radar said.  
  
'I'm going to have to get him something for his trouble,' Alex said.  
  
'Nah, it's ok. He told me since it was for a good cause and all. . .' Radar shrugged.  
  
'Well, thank him from me next time you talk to him. And don't forget, don't tell anyone else about this,' Alex said, waving the paper in her hand. She looked over at Henry's office door. 'Frank in?' she asked.  
  
'Yeah, did you want me to announce you or something?' Radar asked. Alex shook her head.  
  
'I'm just going to ask for a couple days pass,' she said. She walked in without knocking and found Margaret and Frank standing behind Henry's desk, looking awkward.  
  
'Haven't you heard of knocking?' Frank snapped.  
  
'Sorry, Majors,' Alex said, saluting. She knew if she wanted a few days off, she'd have to be respectful and not annoy either Frank or Margaret.  
  
'What do you want?' Margaret asked harshly.  
  
'A couple of days R and R, while the war is quiet,' Alex said.  
  
'No,' Frank said. 'You've already had three days in Tokyo this month.' Alex's face fell.  
  
'Frank, this is important!' she said, slamming her hands onto Henry's desk.  
  
'You heard him. You're not having a pass,' Margaret said.  
  
'Did I mention this was important? As in an emergency?' Alex asked, trying to keep calm.  
  
'Why is it so important you go on leave, lieutenant?' Frank asked cruelly.  
  
'I can't tell you,' Alex said stiffly.  
  
'Then you can't have a few days for R and R,' Frank said. Alex went to storm out of the office without saluting, when Margaret called her.  
  
'Salute your superior officers!' she snapped. Alex turned around, a sarcastic smile on her face and gave them the finger before running out. Margaret and Frank were outraged.  
  
'LIEUTENANT!' Frank yelled at the swinging doors. 


	28. Gone AWOL

Alex was in the officer's club, drowning her sorrows in a martini. Hawkeye and Trapper came up to her.  
  
'What's up?' Trapper asked.  
  
'Frank won't give me a couple days of leave,' Alex said, viciously stabbing a pretzel with a straw.  
  
'Wait until Henry gets back, he'll let you go,' Hawkeye said, patting Alex on the back.  
  
'He's not due back for five days! I can't wait that long!' Alex said, causing the pretzel to fall off the bar. She pushed her drink away and stared moodily at the wall.  
  
'Maybe we can help,' Trapper offered.  
  
'No, it doesn't matter. I'll wait,' Alex said.  
  
'Will you at least tell us why you want a couple days leave?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'No, and don't bother spreading stuff around again, in hope someone will tell you, because I'm the only one that knows why I want those days of R and R,' Alex muttered. She stood up and left money beside her glass before leaving.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
The next day, Hawkeye and Trapper went into the mess tent to see Klinger sitting alone at a table.  
  
'Where's Alex?' Hawkeye asked.  
  
'I thought maybe you'd know,' Klinger asked. Trapper sighed and the three men walked to Radar's office. Hawkeye grabbed the mike for the PA system and turned it on.  
  
'Lieutenant Dustin, come to the front office please, lieutenant Dustin,' Hawkeye said. One of the other nurse's turned up instead.  
  
'I've just found this on Alex's cot. I was tidying up her cot for her, she leaves it unmade every morning, you see, even with Major Burns in charge, and I found this note,' the nurse explained. Klinger took it from her.  
  
' "Gone AWOL",' Klinger read. He looked up at Hawkeye and Trapper.  
  
'She must have gone because Ferret Face wouldn't give her that pass,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Should we show Frank? He's responsible for everyone in camp while Henry's out,' Trapper said.  
  
'What would he do? He'd just ignore it or something,' Klinger scoffed.  
  
'Come on, we should show him, Alex might get caught by the enemy or something,' Hawkeye said, walking into Frank's temporary office. Trapper and Klinger followed him, finding Frank and Margaret looking annoyed at being disturbed.  
  
'Does no one in this camp know how to knock?' Frank yelled.  
  
'No, but hum us a couple of bars and we'll fake it,' Trapper said sarcastically.  
  
'Alex has gone AWOL,' Klinger said, shoving the scrap of paper with Alex's message and signature on it at the Majors. Margaret read it and passed it to Frank.  
  
'She can't have gone, not while I'm in charge!' Frank said.  
  
'Face it, she's not in camp. Ask every single person to look for her, and I bet you won't find her within a two mile radius of here,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'Radar, get MP's out looking for Alex,' Trapper said as Radar came into the office.  
  
'Yes, sir, right away,' Radar said before turning to leave.  
  
'Excuse me, Frank is in charge here!' Margaret said loudly.  
  
'Yeah!' Frank yelled.  
  
'You have a better idea?' Hawkeye asked. He turned to Radar. 'Go get the MP's,' he said. Radar nodded and ran out. 


	29. Monty

Alex was walking along a quiet road with her belongings in a bag, wondering if anyone had noticed she was gone yet.  
  
Klinger might have, she thought, he'd have missed me at breakfast. Then he would have gone to Hawkeye and Trapper, and they would all look for her, getting the rest of the camp to help. Frank and Margaret wouldn't find out for ages, she didn't have to worry about them sending MP's after her for a while.  
  
A van was coming up behind her, and it slowed down.  
  
'You alright, miss?' the guy driving said.  
  
'My jeep broke down, you might have seen it a couple of miles back. I'm trying to get to this MASH unit,' Alex replied, showing him a piece of paper.  
  
'Well, I'm going there, I can take you to that MASH unit if you want,' the man said.  
  
'Yes please,' Alex said, going around the front of the military van and getting into the passenger seat. The van drove off, and Alex sat back in her seat, thinking.  
  
'So why do you have to get to that unit?' the driver asked.  
  
'Uh, visiting,' Alex said the first excuse that came into her head. 'I got a letter from a nurse there that I went to school with and we thought it'd be fun to catch up while I'm on R and R.' The driver nodded.  
  
'The name's Monty, by the way,' he said. 'I'm driving supplies to each unit.'  
  
'Really? When do you go to the 4077? That's my unit, I might be able to catch a trip back with you,' Alex said.  
  
'In two days,' Monty replied.  
  
'Great, I only have three days leave,' Alex said.  
  
'What did you say your name was?' Monty asked.  
  
'Oh, sorry, I'm Alex,' Alex said, watching the Korean landscape slip past.  
  
'I think I've seen your picture somewhere before,' Monty said.  
  
Shoot.  
  
'Really?' Alex asked nervously. 'Where?'  
  
'I'm not sure, it was a photo, someone showed it to me. . . Oh, that's right! A Major showed it to me, said you were his sister. Major Dustbin, or something strange like that,' Monty said.  
  
'Major Dustin, yeah, that's my brother,' Alex said, feeling relieved.  
  
'Nice guy. When you see him, tell him Monty says hello. We played poker together once. Said he was a hopeless player, but his sisters were both excellent at cards,' Monty said.  
  
'Well, I am pretty good,' Alex shrugged modestly. 'But you should see our youngest sister, Danielle. She has unbelievable luck when playing cards, could probably clean out a whole casino in one night.'  
  
'Yeah, how old is she?' Monty asked interestedly over the roar of the van.  
  
'Oh, eighteen next month,' Alex replied. 'What else did my brother say about us?'  
  
'He told me you and him were close, very close, like best friends. Told me after your dad died, he acted like a father to you two girls,' Monty said. He paused for a while. 'Isaac is a good kid. I'd like to see him amount to something great after the war.' Alex nodded numbly.  
  
'He would have,' Alex said quietly to herself.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
After a few hours, Alex noticed a road block up ahead.  
  
'Hmm, wonder who the MP's are after?' Monty said. He flagged down a jeep coming in the opposite direction.  
  
'They're after some nurse who went AWOL,' the person in the jeep said when Monty asked.  
  
'They're after me,' Alex said. 'I can't believe how quick they've acted.'  
  
'You're the nurse who went AWOL?' Monty asked.  
  
'Yeah, but before you turn me in, just listen,' Alex said desperately. 'I got word a week or two ago that Isaac died in the MASH unit we're heading for. I got the clerk from the 4077 to track down where they buried him, but couldn't get leave to see him. So I ran off. I swear I'm going to go back after I see Isaac's grave.'  
  
'Isaac Dustin's dead?' Monty said faintly. Alex nodded, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
'All I want to do is say good bye to him, and I won't be able to if I'm sent back,' Alex said. Monty looked thoughtful.  
  
'Get in the back, quickly. I'll get you past,' he said. Alex nodded and jumped out of the jeep after checking no one was watching. She got into the back of the van and hid behind the supplies.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
'Whoa, we need to check for someone,' an MP stopped Monty from going through.  
  
'It's just me in the van. I'm taking supplies to a MASH unit,' Monty said. 'You can check if you like.' The back was opened and scanned quickly.  
  
'No one in there. Go on through,' the MP waved the van through. Once out of sight of the road block, Monty stopped and let Alex get back into the cabin.  
  
'Thanks,' Alex said gratefully.  
  
'No problem. As long as you do go back to your unit afterwards,' Monty said.  
  
'I will,' Alex said, keeping an eye out for any other MP road blocks. 


	30. Radar Confesses

'Anyone who knows the whereabouts of lieutenant Alex Dustin, please come forward,' the PA speakers were shouting over the camp. 'Thank you.' Hawkeye and Trapper were lounging about in the Swamp when Klinger came running in, the door slamming behind him.  
  
'Must you be so loud?' Hawkeye complained, looking up at Klinger from his favourite chair.  
  
'I just remembered, the last time I saw Alex, Radar told her he'd found it,' Klinger said.  
  
'Found what?' Trapper asked.  
  
'I don't know, he just came up to her and said "I've found it". She got excited and they left,' Klinger said.  
  
'Why didn't you tell us earlier? Radar might know where Alex is, or where she's going!' Hawkeye said, jumping up.  
  
'I didn't remember until I sat down in the mess tent, thinking about how the last time I saw Alex was at dinner,' Klinger said. Trapper and Hawkeye ran out of the tent to Radar's tent. He was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork when the two doctors burst in.  
  
'Radar, do you know where Alex is?' Trapper asked.  
  
'No, she's gone, remember? No-one knows where she is,' Radar said.  
  
'We think you might have an idea about where she's heading,' Hawkeye said.  
  
'What?' Radar asked in an alarmed voice.  
  
'Whatcha find for Alex, Radar?' Trapper asked, leaning on the filing cabinet.  
  
'I promised I wouldn't tell,' Radar replied, fiddling with a pen in his hands and not looking at either Trapper or Hawkeye.  
  
'Radar, you've driven me to this, I order you to tell us what you found for Alex,' Hawkeye said. Radar looked up at Hawkeye.  
  
'That's unfair!' he said.  
  
'Tell us,' Hawkeye said. Radar sulked for a few seconds.  
  
'I found out where her brother was buried,' he said eventually. Trapper and Hawkeye glanced at each other.  
  
'We need more information,' Hawkeye said, leaning down.  
  
'She went into Frank's office after I found it for her and asked for a couple days of leave. He wouldn't give it to her unless she told him why she wanted them. She didn't and left,' Radar said.  
  
'I bet that's where she's heading,' Trapper said triumphantly. Hawkeye nodded.  
  
'Radar, give us the place where Alex's brother was buried.  
  
'Aw,' Radar whined. He went to a filing cabinet and took out a folder. He opened it and rummaged through it before bringing out a piece of paper. 'Lucky for you two, I copied it down in case I needed it again,' Radar told them. Hawkeye snatched the paper from him.  
  
'Thanks, Radar,' he said as he stared down at the location written in Radar's messy scribble.  
  
'Should we chase her, or what?' Trapper asked, looking over Hawkeye's shoulder.  
  
'Nah, the MP's will catch up with her sooner or later, and I bet we don't get a couple days leave from Ferret Face to go get her,' Hawkeye said. Klinger came into the tent.  
  
'So?' he asked eagerly.  
  
'Found her,' Trapper said as Hawkeye passed the paper to Klinger.  
  
'Are we going to do anything?' Klinger asked after reading it.  
  
'No, it's best to let it lie. The MP's will probably bring her back by tomorrow,' Hawkeye said. Klinger glanced at the paper again before handing it back to Radar and left the tent. 


	31. Klinger brings Alex back

Alex fell onto the ground in front of the cross in the ground, crying.  
  
IHere lies Major Isaac Travis Dustin, who fought in the Korean war. . ./I  
  
'Are you ok?' Monty asked her.  
  
'Yeah, I'm fine,' Alex said, calming down a little. She began to put up the weeds that had begun to grow around the grave, and Monty moved away, feeling out of place. Alex heard him leave, but didn't make any acknowledgements to his departure. She looked around and found some pretty purple wildflowers. Picking them, she put them on her brother's grave. She stayed there for hours, just staring into space and thinking about all the great times she'd had with Isaac.  
  
'Uh, Alex?' It was Monty. 'Did you want to go back to your unit, or stay here for a while, or what?'  
  
'You go and do your rounds. I'll find a way back on my own,' Alex said, smiling up at him. Monty turned to leave. 'Oh, and Monty? Thanks for everything,' Alex called after him. Monty turned around again and grinned.  
  
'Look after yourself and when you see your family, tell 'em I'm sorry about your loss,' he said before getting into the van and driving off. Alex sighed and watched the sun set. She wrapped herself in a thin blanket she'd brought in her bag, and curled up on the ground, and fell asleep.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex woke up early the next morning, and watched the sun rise. She was hungry, but had eaten the last of her food last night. She did some more crying, but didn't move from her spot. A jeep pulled up nearby and Alex turned around. Klinger was jogging towards her, looking concerned.  
  
'Klinger, what are you doing here?' Alex asked.  
  
'Thought you might need a ride back,' Klinger replied.  
  
'How'd you track me down?' Alex asked as Klinger sat down beside her.  
  
'Hawkeye and Trapper. They found out from Radar,' Klinger replied. 'Are you ok?'  
  
'I'm fine, but it looks like I can't keep anything from them,' Alex said, smiling to see the familiar face.  
  
'Hawkeye ordered Radar to tell them. They figured that the MP's would find you sooner or later, so they didn't come looking for you. But I know that you're smarter than any MP's the army comes up with. You wouldn't get caught if you didn't want to,' Klinger said. Alex turned to look at Isaac's grave.  
  
'Was Ferret Face angry?' she asked.  
  
'Major Burns? Furious. Didn't think anyone would desert the camp while he was running it,' Klinger said. Alex laughed.  
  
'Won't you be missed?' she asked through her giggles.  
  
'Me, be missed? Nah, without my dresses, I'm nobody,' Klinger replied. The two stood up eventually.  
  
'We should go back,' Alex said.  
  
'Yeah,' Klinger replied. 'I'm looking forward to having a nap when we get back. I drove all night to get here.'  
  
'I'll drive,' Alex said getting into the jeep. Klinger got into the back and they drove off, Klinger trying to doze, but being waken up by every pot hole Alex hit.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
MP's caught Alex and Klinger half way and took them back to the 4077.  
  
'Henry? What are you doing back? You weren't due back for another couple of days!' Alex said when she saw who was running the camp again.  
  
'I had to come back when I found out I had two personnel AWOL,' Henry replied, glancing at Klinger.  
  
'Well, if Frank had given me the days off I had asked for, none of this would have happened,' Alex said, sitting in a chair and leaning back. Alex and Klinger retold the whole story to Henry, and the Colonel looked thoughtful.  
  
'Well, I won't punish either of you this time. But if it happens again. . .' Henry said.  
  
'Ok, we won't do it again,' Klinger said.  
  
'Dismissed. Oh, and Klinger? I've had your dresses sent back to your tent,' Henry said. Klinger's face lit up and he saluted Henry before leaving.  
  
'You're a saint, sir!' he said before running out. Alex followed Klinger out the office door to leave Henry alone to write a letter home. 


	32. A letter

Alex went into the Swamp to find Trapper and Hawkeye enjoying martini's from their freshly returned Still.  
  
'Alex! Pull up a martini!' Hawkeye said, pouring Alex a large glassful. She drank half of it in one go, savouring the taste she had missed so much.  
  
'The officer's club doesn't make life savers like this,' she said blissfully.  
  
'Find Isaac alright?' Trapper asked. Alex nodded.  
  
'Yeah, I said my final good byes,' she said, sighing.  
  
'By the way, this came in for you. Radar says it's been chasing you around all over the place, no-one knew where to send it,' Hawkeye said, handing Alex a crumpled envelope. Alex looked at it and choked on her martini when she read the front of it. Trapper got up quickly and thumped her on the back until she was ok again.  
  
'This is from Isaac before he died,' Alex said. Hawkeye and Trapper looked surprised.  
  
'Open it!' they both urged her. Alex opened the envelope with trembling hands and began to read out the short letter inside.  
  
IDear Alex,  
  
Lots of trouble here. Don't know if I'll make it. Asking the priest to write this as I dictate. Hope it reaches you. /I  
  
Alex stopped reading.  
  
'I can't go on,' she said. 'It's a little personal.'  
  
'We understand,' Hawkeye said sincerely, patting her on the back. Alex stood up and left, reading and rereading the letter over and over again. She wandered into Henry's office, and waited for him, sitting on the desk and helping herself to his liqueur cabinet. Eventually, Henry came in.  
  
'Can I help you?' he asked Alex. Alex went to the door and peeked out. Radar appeared to be out to lunch and no-one else was within ear shot.  
  
'Henry, there's something I'd like to ask. . .' Alex said, closing the door to his office carefully. 


	33. Going home

'You're serious?' Klinger asked.  
  
'But you refused point blank before. . .' Trapper said.  
  
'I know, but what you don't understand is that my brother, in his last letter to me, requested me to go home if I was offered a hardship discharge. He didn't want me to die in this little hell hole called war,' Alex said.  
  
'Wow. . . I mean. . . Alex, we're going to miss you,' Hawkeye said, giving her a hug. Alex hugged him back, and gave him a quick kiss.  
  
'I'm going to miss all of you as well,' she said, a tear escaping down one cheek.  
  
'Did you want a farewell party or something?' Trapper asked.  
  
'I could order in fresh stuff from headquarters,' Radar offered. Alex shook her head.  
  
'You know me. I don't like those big fancy honours. Plus, you've held one party for me this war already. I don't need another one. Hold one after I've left if you want an excuse for a party,' Alex said, smiling.  
  
'Alex, I'd just like to say what an inspiration you've been while at this camp,' Frank said.  
  
'Like what? Like going AWOL?' Alex laughed.  
  
'No, for saving lives on more than one occasion,' Margaret said.  
  
'I told you, I could get an award for you to take home to your folks,' Henry said. Alex shook her head again.  
  
'I don't want that. The only thing I want from this camp are all the people in it to come home with me,' she said before adding 'oh, and maybe the Still.'  
  
'Well, you're not getting it,' Hawkeye said, pretending to be angry. Alex laughed.  
  
'This war has been hell, but I sure won't forget the people I met in here in hell,' she said, half crying, half laughing.  
  
'We won't forget you either. Every time we see a martini in a nurse's hand, or a young woman winning at poker, we'll be thinking fondly of you,' Trapper said. Alex smiled at the group and stared at each one of them as if to burn their image permanently in her mind. Hawkeye and Trapper in their bathrobes with a martini in hand, Radar with his glasses, Frank and Margaret secretly hugging while they thought no one was paying them any attention, Henry with his fishing jacket and hat on, and Klinger, wearing the first dress Alex had ever seen him in.  
  
'I'm gonna miss you guys so much,' she said, breaking down and crying.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
Alex left for the airport in Seoul three days later. Henry had given her the lure used to pry the bullet from Klinger's arm to remember them by, Hawkeye and Trapper had filled up a few canteens with martini's from the Still to take back home, Margaret and Frank had saluted her strongly when she left, Klinger had ordered her a simple dress from one of his catalogues, and even Radar came up to her shyly to give her a present.  
  
'Hawkeye, since I don't really need them any more, I want you to have these,' she said as Trapper threw her bags in the back of a waiting van. Hawkeye and Trapper were the only ones who'd come to see her leave, as everyone else had said their good byes in the mess tent. She pressed something small and cold into his hand. He looked down.  
  
'You might need these again, one day,' he said, holding up her dog tags.  
  
'Nah, no chance,' Alex replied, grinning briefly. Hawkeye looked at them again and read Alex's name a few times. He noticed they seemed to be stained with something, and he knew it was from her first military outfit.  
  
'Have a good journey, Alex,' Trapper said, patting her on the back as she got into the jeep.  
  
'Hope to see you all back in the states one day,' Alex replied. Suddenly, she laughed. 'I promised myself I wouldn't cry,' she said, tears running down her face. 'But here I am, crying, and sad to be seeing the last of this dump.' Hawkeye moved forward and hugged her before the jeep lumbered off out of camp.  
  
'I'm going to miss her,' Hawkeye said as Alex went through the sign.  
  
'Yeah, it means you'll have to find a new nurse,' Trapper said, grinning. Hawkeye wrestled him to the ground for the remark, and both were dusty and untidy when Frank and Margaret ordered them to stop it.  
  
**~~*~~*~~*~~**  
  
A week later, a jeep drove past the Swamp. Hawkeye and Trapper looked out.  
  
'Alex's replacement,' Trapper grunted.  
  
'Come on, we promised Alex we'd treat them with respect,' Hawkeye said, standing up. Henry was helping a nurse down from the jeep while Radar tried to drag the heavy bags from the back.  
  
'Lieutenant Paula, this is Captain McIntyre and Captain Pierce,' Henry said when they reached Henry and the new nurse.  
  
'Call us Hawkeye and Trapper,' Hawkeye said, shaking her hand. She was short and had cropped brown hair. Her eyes were brown, almost black, and she had a look of someone who can smell something disgusting on her face.  
  
'I don't care for nicknames on military bases. And you two are out of uniform,' she snapped. She followed Henry to where Frank and Margaret were standing.  
  
'Majors Burns and Houlihan,' Hawkeye and Trapper could hear Henry introduce.  
  
'This camp is a disgrace!' Lieutenant Paula was saying. 'What are you going to do 'bout it?' Trapper sighed heavily.  
  
'I miss Alex,' he said.  
  
'So do I,' Hawkeye replied as they slouched back to the Swamp. 


End file.
